Reign of the Shadow
by Dark Guymelef
Summary: Kirito and his friends finally clear Aincrad Castle. However, after doing so the meet the mysterious entity known as Shadow. He has hijacked the game and trapped over 10 million players within. Now Kirito and his friends must join the others to solve the mystery of Shadow and defeat him to free themselves. Thus begins a bloody struggle for their lives... and more.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online.

Reign of the Shadow

Chapter 1

Hijacked

The group walked through two massive marble doors with elaborate designs carved into them. Kirito led the way into a Great Hall. Two rows of pillars ran the length of the hall, and gigantic windows on both walls allowed the setting sun's light into the hall, giving it an almost golden glow. Only clouds could be seen for as far as the eye could see. This would definitely be a battle in the sky.

At the far end of the hall, three wide steps led to a tall, gold throne. In it sat a figure all too familiar to Kirito and his friends, except for Lyfa and Recon. His long, silver hair falling down around his pale but noble face and going down the back of his white cape and red armor; Heathcliff watched them enter. He was not Kayaba, but merely the programmed end boss to Aincrad castle. Finally, Kirito, with the help of his companions, was going to fulfill his vow of completing all 100 levels of the castle.

Heathcliff didn't speak until they were about halfway into the room. He stood, and his deep voice echoed off the walls, "Congratulations on making it this far. I am Heathcliff, the Demon King. If you wish to clear the game, you must defeat me. Are you ready?"

Kirito smiled as watched the man on the throne rise to his feet, "You bet we're ready."

"Very well," Heathcliff replied, "Be prepared and be aware, I will show you no mercy."

The red knight drew his sword and charged them. The group had barely enough time to draw their own weapons before he was upon them. Naturally, as he was in the lead, Kirito was the target of this first attack. He used his two swords (Liz reforged the broken one) to block the coming attack. He strained under the strength of the boss, but was rescued when Asuna charged him from the side. Heathcliff easily blocked her attack with his shield, but he moved away from both of them.

The group formed a circle around the boss, who simply observed them from the center. Then without warning, he charged toward Recon, who was by far the weakest of the group as far as direct combat was concerned. Fortunately he was spared by Lyfa, who parried the attack with her katana. The rest of the group moved in toward them. The boss quickly drew away and turned to the rest of the other players.

He moved fluidly in between all of them, and did not seem to attack in any type of pattern, though if anyone got too close to him they would have to face a sudden flurry of attacks. His moves were too quick for everyone to engage him at once. Then, an idea struck Kirito.

"Lyfa, Recon!" Kirito shouted as the point of his black blade met Heathcliff's thick shield and the other sword parried the coming attack. "Use your magic to create explosions around him, so he can't see us." Heathcliff jumped back from him and turned after Egil and Klein. Kirito then addressed the rest of the group, "Everyone, attack him at once! We have to overwhelm him!"

Heathcliff dealt some damage to both Egil and Klein before jumping back to the middle of the circle. Just as he did so, Lyfa and Recon finished their spells. Two explosions erupted on either side of the boss, obscuring him with smoke and dealing some damage at the same time. The entire party advance on him, emerging from the quickly clearing smoke in time to see Heathcliff also preparing for their attack. His sword parried Lyfa and Egil's attack simultaneously, while his shield protected him from most of Asuna's lightning fast strike.

Recon sent a fiery dart into the boss's side, while the glowing red blade of Klein's katana slashed his shoulder. A few of Asuna's many rapid green strikes found their way around the shield to deal some damage. Kirito did the most damage though, as both of his blades, now glowing green, slashed down the length of his back.

One attack was all they were going to get though, Heathcliff reacted with lightning speed. He staggered Lyfa and Egil with a shove of his sword and spun around, bringing the blade downward. This nearly cut Recon in half. At the same time, the tip of his large shield smacked Klein in the face, sending him flat on his back. Kirito crossed his swords to block the coming blow, which landed right on them, but the Demon King's sword still nearly separated his left arm from his body.

They all jumped back to avoid any more damage. The boss charged after Kirito, who completely blocked his attack with Asuna's help. The couple glanced and smiled at each other, Kirito's gratefulness evident in his eyes. Then they dashed at their enemy. His large shield blocked the point of Asuna's blade, and his sword blocked one of Kirito's. The young raven-haired man spun under Heathcliff's arm, slashing his side with the other sword.

The others also saw the opportunity opened by their friends' attack, and advanced themselves. Another explosion erupted right behind the boss from Recon, while the others charged. Heathcliff turned to meet their advance. In a flash of green and yellow, the boss's HP bar dropped when Egil's and Leafa's strikes found their mark. Unfortunately, Klein was again struck in the face by the shield, spinning him around and knocking him to the ground.

The party continued to follow this pattern of attacking. Someone, usually 2 or 3 people, would charge at the Demon King's front, allowing the others to strike from the sides or from behind. The center of that golden Great Hall became filled with their battle cries and flashes of color from their weapons as well as sparks that flew each time swords met or an attack was blocked by the shield. Slowly, the party whittled down the final boss's HP. However, nearly every blow he dealt caused damage of some sort to at least one member.

Then, Heathcliff's health entered orange. Completely ignoring any coming blows, the red knight crouched down, pulling his sword arm across the front of his body and angling his sword into the air so that it came around his back. Before anyone could hit him, the blade of Heathcliff's sword glowed red, and he swung. The move was so powerful it kicked dirt and dust into the air, while a red flash extended in a circle from Heathcliff with tremendous force, throwing the entire party into the air.

As they struggled to their feet, the boss swiftly advanced on Recon. Recon had been switching between healing the group and use long-range magic attacks to deal a little damage but also distract the boss from the group. As he struggled to his hands and knees, however, Heathcliff struck up ward, his sword catching Recon in the side and nearly slicing him in half while flinging him into the air. When he finally landed on his back on the floor, his HP bar read that he had hardly any health left.

Heathcliff moved to finish Recon off, but was blocked by Lyfa. Despite this being a game in a virtual world, anger shone from her face. She did not like what he had just done to her boyfriend. She parried to more attacks and moved to try to get in between him and his shield. However, the Demon King moved out of the way and skewered her on the edge of his sword. He raised her up, and then flung her away. She collided with Egil just as he stood up, knocking him back down on the ground. He HP was now orange.

However, Heathcliff still didn't get to Recon. For Kirito let loose a battle cry, roaring as he charged the boss. Sparks flew as the young man attacked swiftly. He did not allow the boss time to attack, so fast was his flurry of blows. The party watched in amazement as the boss's HP slowly dropped to red. Once it did so, the group saw Heathcliff suddenly move, then a large flash of red, and Kirito was sent soaring into the air. He hit the ground on his back and slid all the way to Asuna's feet.

Asuna helped him up while Heathcliff charged at the other players. Lyfa dodged him, trying not to lose any more health. Both Egil and Klein tried to block the blows he sent at them, but his attacks were so powerful that they smashed through both of their defenses, staggering both of them while taking a chunk of HP.

Then the Heathcliff turned around to see both Kirito and Asuna sprinting across the floor towards him, their blades glowing. The couple's swords were aimed at his center, so Heathcliff brought his shield to his front. Then, the two players leapt from the ground directly in front of them, striking his face as they flew over his head and landed behind him. The boss's HP gauge dropped to almost nothing, and he suddenly went berserk. However, both Kirito and Asuna were already berserk. The quickly found themselves locked in a furious duel against him.

Finally after a while of neither side dealing any damage, Kirito and Asuna struck downwards at opposing angles, causing Heathcliff's sword and shield to both move down away from his body. This left him completely open, and the couple charged their swords and attacked. The Demon King let out a groan as their blades slashed into him, and his HP bare dropped to 0.

The final boss fell to his knees, remaining upright only by leaning on his sword as his entire image began to fade to white. When he finally became completely white, he exploded into hundreds of tiny shards of white light. The party cheered, their very souls elated as the word "Congratulations" appeared over where the boss was.

Then something strange began to happen. Suddenly, the word flashed and became very deformed. The crackle and pop sounds of static emanated from it. Then the light from the sun started to increase dramatically. The light became brighter and brighter until all anyone could see was white. Then the robotic female voice of the administration announcer echoed all throughout Alfheim and Aincrad.

"Warning: System Error- Anomaly Detected. Warning: System Error- Anomaly Detected."

When the light finally receded, the party found themselves standing on the roof of a building in a city they had never seen before. The city was huge, stretching for miles. In the distance, they could see the World Tree and Aincrad Castle. What was more, the entire city was filled with players, packed into every crevice, every nook and cranny; and all wondering what was going on.

Then, high above their heads, what looked like a cloud of thousands of swirling streams of pitch-black smoke appeared before them. It grew to an enormous size, and then a shape began to emerge from the cloud. It took a while before it took on any real form, but soon the players all found themselves staring at a giant, hooded skull with white eyes jutting from the cloud.

"Welcome, my fellow players," the skull spoke, its voice depositing a slight twinge of fear and anxiety in Kirito's heart. "My name is Shadow. I have hijacked the game system for this game and am now in total control of its administration. As the new administrator, my first act was to create this city, known as Millennial City. My second act is to now declare that as of this point on, no one can log into, or log out of, this game." His declaration was met with many panicked whispers of some and the stunned silence of others. Kirito and his friends felt like a lead weight had been dropped on them.

Shadow continued, "Naturally, this brings some changes to how you should play this game. For those of you who are veterans of the SAO incident, you know how this works. From this point, should you die in the game, you die in real life. However, unlike the SAO incident, should anyone on the outside try to rescue you by removing your NerveGear, nothing will happen, you will remain trapped in this world. I have notified all the governments of your nations of what is occurring; but rest assured, they will be of no help to you. Their attempts to access the game are futile.

"I now officially declare a state of war between myself and all of the 10.7 million players in Alfheim. In order to be free, you must find me, and defeat me. I give you this city to be a safe haven, and a base of operations. All the other cities in this world will not become safe until you secure them and purge them of all enemies." Suddenly a pillar of light shown over the central square of the town, and a figure could be seen descending in it. "I give to you this man to be your leader. Many of you probably recognize him. He is Akihiko Kayaba, creator of Sword Art Online. He achieved immortality by copying his consciousness to cyber space. I have brought him back to lead you. Make no mistake, he is your ally. Also, in the sense of fair play, I will give you a clue to start you on the path to finding me."

Slowly, a stream of darkness crawled from the cloud and formed some sort of object floating in midair. The object was pitch-black except for a red gem at its center. It flared outward at its base, bulged around the red gem, and came to a point at the top. Its design made it look almost like a giant blade.

"The secret to my identity and location lies locked on the 90th floor of Aincrad Castle. In order to access this floor, four keys must be found. The object you see before you marks the entrance to the dungeons where they are located. For now, I bid you all farewell, though some of you will not live to see me again. Hahahahah- HAHAHAHA!" His laugh continued to echo even after the cloud was gone.

For a moment, there was absolute silence. Then, panic took over and the city became a setting of pandemonium. As panic struck the city, Kirito and his friend stayed on their rooftop, shocked into silence.

Crazed thoughts raced through the young man's mind. This wasn't real, was it? This couldn't be really happening, not again. He had so much left to do, he was going to graduate soon, and though they were married in this virtual world, he and Asuna were only engaged in the real world, and were planning on getting married shortly after graduation. He looked over his shoulder at the beautiful brunette standing behind him. He could see the tears pooling in her eyes and knew she was feeling the same thing that he was.

The day was 22 of June, 20 2027; the day of first encounter with the malicious entity known only as Shadow.

**Well, what do you guys think? Please review and let me know! I'll work on getting the next chapter up soon. Till then. **

**Dark Guymelef**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Unified Resistance

As the pandemonium ensued, large numbers of players attempted to leave the city. Kirito and his friends were still on their rooftop, trying their best to process that this was happening, again. Then, screams, different form the panicked ones of most in the city, rose above the cacophony.

"What is that?" Asuna asked in mild concern as they turned in the direction of the sound.

Their eyes widened when they saw smoke rising in the east, just beyond the edge of the city. That was the edge they were closest to, and from their height they could see a mass of people near the smokes origin. Many others were aware of it now too, and the noise in the city decreased enough for the screams to be identified. Those weren't so much screams of fear and panic of those who have been trapped, as they were screams of the dead and dying.

Kirito wasn't sure what made him do it, but instinct said to go to the sound. He suddenly leapt to his feet, and the wings he acquired from Alfheim, even though he chose to stick with his character from SAO, appeared on his back. Ignoring the protests from his friends, the young hero shot into the air.

As he flew over the city, Kirito noticed that very few players were still moving towards the sound. By their appearance, most of them were of higher levels, probably intent on joining the fight. Kirito flew down toward the scene of death. Though the smoke and dust obscured his vision, he could see something very large moving quickly through the crowd, kicking up dust as it did so. He emerged from the smoke just in time to see the very last bit of what appeared to be bone disappear into the earth.

"Kirito!"

He turned and looked up to see that his friends were following him. Asuna was the first to touch the ground and run to him. She immediately slapped him across the face, tears escaping from her eyes as she did so. Kirito staggered back and held his cheek, looking at her with wide eyes. The spectacle was enough to get the attention of the surrounding crowd.

"What was that for?" Kirito whined.

Asuna huffed, "What were you thinking? What if you were hurt o-or worse?"

Kirito didn't have time to respond, for at that moment a few yards from them, the ground erupted. A dozen players were flung into the air, all vanished into shards of light before they hit the ground. The dust and wind from the eruption whipped around Kirito's black coat and Asuna's white skirt. When the smoke and dust settled everyone gasped at what they saw.

Resembling a skeletal centipede, the Skull Reaper's primary weapons were the two massive scythes attached to its only two arms. Its skull was elongated at the back, making it look like a giant oval, while it had two sets of jaws that split in the middle. Its four red eyes added a demonic look to it. It was terror to fight, even for the highest level players, because it had the ability to kill a player in a single hit, no matter what.

The earth burst sky ward in two other places behind the Skull Reaper. When the dust settled, three of the monstrous creatures stood in the midst of the crowd. The three roared in unison, and then the clatter of bones filled their ears as the monsters swiftly moved amongst the crowd, their large scythes and tail cutting huge swathes through the players.

Other than a few players who tried to attack, the creatures were virtually unopposed, their victims still reeling from the previous events. Kirito drew both of his swords as he stood directly in the path of one of the Skull Reapers. The enemy screeched, and then launched one of its massive scythe arms at him. Kirito prepared to block it, knowing full well that he was still going to take some damage. However, the bladed arm was stopped cold as it ran into probably the most impenetrable shield in the game.

The force of the attack caused Kayaba to slide backwards, but he received no harm. The creature withdrew its attack and changed direction, leaving all those who witnessed the event to stand in awe. Kayaba turned to face them.

"I know we've had our differences in the past," he seemed to be more addressing Kirito and his friends than anyone else, "and we can deal with them later, but now these monsters need to be destroyed." Kirito nodded his approval before taking off to engage the enemy. Kayaba raised his voice for more people to hear, "Only those with strong defense or speed engage them head on! Everyone else, attack from the sides! Charge!"

A chorus of angry battle cries tore through the air as the mass of players moved to attack. The casualties inflicted by the Skull Reapers were suddenly reduced from tens of people to two or three per attack. Flashes of green, blue, yellow, and red cut across their bony bodies.

The massive blade of one scythe propelled itself at Asuna. The woman faced it with defiance in her eyes, preparing her rapier to block the attack. In a flash, the monster's blow was deflected when Kirito appeared behind her, crossing his swords in front of her. The creature screeched its indignation and prepared to strike again.

However, Kirito and Asuna were already on the move. Their swords cut across the monster's spine right under its arms. The Skull Reaper let out and ear-piercing cry and collapsed on the ground as its health gauge went red. It was quickly reduced to nothing as the mass of players swarmed over it. It exploded into thousands of tiny shards as the players moved on to engage the others.

The second Skull Reaper was already beaten and battered, having engaged a large number of heavy knights, most from the Knights of the Blood Oath guild that was revived shortly after the return of Aincrad. These heavy-hitters were supported by numerous healers and mages skilled in destructive magic. Its HP gauge was already orange by the time reinforcements from the first Skull Reaper arrived.

The creature slashed downward with its great scythe-arm, slashing one knight in half, but its move was blocked from continuing by Kayaba's shield. He shoved it away and dashed forward, his sword glowing red. His attack hit, and he quickly jumped out of the way as it tried to step on him.

A series of fireballs flew over the heads of the fighters, colliding along the front part of the Skull Reaper. In response, the creature leapt into the air, soaring over the wall of knights and landing on the flank of the magicians. It roared and swung one of its arms, killing several of them.

Players more prepared for martial combat quickly surrounded the monster to prevent it from continuing its work of death among the magicians. Swiftly, they whittled its health down to nothing. As everyone turned their attention to the final Skull Reaper, they saw an image that just about made their jaw drop. Running along the creature's spine they saw a lone, dark figure. Its sword flashed green from its charged attacks as it ran towards the head, holding on for dear life.

"Okay," Klein said in awe as he and the others watched from where the previous Skull Reaper fell, "that guy's crazy. He might even give you a run for your money in the insane department," he said as he looked to his young raven-haired friend.

"Does he even have a brain?" Kirito muttered sarcastically.

The figure reached the base of the skull, and leapt into the air, upper cutting the monster's head as he did so. He landed on the top of the creature's bulbous skull and stabbed his sword into it. He ran down toward its face, his blade creating a long gash in it. He finally leapt from the Skull Reaper as it crashed to the ground, its HP almost gone. Once again, the surrounding players swiftly destroyed it.

As the particles of the last Skull Reaper floated into the air, the cries of fear and pain that had dominated since Shadow's announcement were overwhelmed by the cheers of victory from the players on the battlefield and those who watched. Elated excitement flowed rampant among the victors.

Overcome with joy and relief that both of them survived, Asuna ran cheering to her husband. She threw herself at him, and when he caught her he spun her around, both of them laughing. As Kirito lowered her to the ground, he found himself lost in her eyes. Slowly, their eyes closed and their lips drew together.

As soon as their lips met, a chorus of "Oooo's" made them separate almost instantly, their faces a little pink. Kirito saw Egil give them a knowing grin while Klein let out a whoop, causing the dual-wielding hero's face to turn deep red.

June 23, 2027

Asuna was the first to wake up. She smiled at the feeling of Kirito's body next to her. How she had missed that feeling. Carefully so as not to wake him, she turned over so she could see his sleeping face. She smiled and gently brushed away some of his hair that had fallen into his face.

"He's so cute when he's asleep," the brunette thought.

After their victory, the whole city pretty much celebrated all night long. Kirito and Asuna had gotten a pretty nice room at one of the inns because so many others insisted on helping pay for it. She thought that this particular inn was more like a hotel with how huge it was. Their room resembled more of a high end flat from the real world.

She quietly got up and moved to the nearest window. Peeking through the curtains, her eyes had to adjust to bright sunlight, and she saw the streets teeming with people, most of them headed towards the grand arena further up the mountain the city sat on. Realizing they slept in, Asuna quickly ran from the window to Kirito's side.

"Kirito, wake up!" She said as she shook him. Slowly, his eyes opened a little and he sat up.

"Morning," he said groggily.

"We slept in," Asuna told him, "if we don't hurry we're going to be late!"

"Late?" Kirito still wasn't fully awake, "Late for what?"

Asuna went back to the window and through back the curtains. Light flooded the room, and earned a yelp from Kirito as it blinded him. Asuna pointed to the rim of the grand arena that was barely visible from their room.

"The meeting they announced yesterday!"Asuna reminded him. "The one at the arena?"

Finally, it dawned on Kirito. He jumped out of bed, accessing his clothes from the inventory menu. When he and Asuna were ready, he took her hand and led her out of the room.

The stadium was already packed by the time Kirito and Asuna arrived. However, when they got there, they Egil standing outside, waiting for them. Once he saw them he waved the couple over. It took them a few minutes to struggle through the thick crowd, but finally they popped out the other side, almost falling over as they did so.

"Hey Egil, what's up?" Kirito asked as he steadied himself and Asuna.

Egil grinned, "Not much, I've only been waiting for half an hour. You two are late, did you sleep well?" Something in the way he said that made them blush. "C'mon, we saved seats for you two."

Together they navigated the swarming mass of people. All three of them marveled at how many people actually came. There were so many that the rooms and rooftops of the surrounding buildings were also being crammed with players. Of course, there was no way that all 10 million people were going to be able to attend anyway.

Kirito clung tightly to his wife's hand as they followed their tall friend. The couple was surprised to find that they were descending closer and closer to the bottom rows of the stadium. They became shocked when they saw Lyfa, Recon, and Klein all sitting on one of the front row benches. The three saw them coming and waved up at them.

Egil had them sit in between himself and Lyfa. It was only then that they became aware of the stares and excited whispers they were receiving from all the surrounding players. Suddenly Kirito and Asuna were quite self-conscious.

"How did you get these seats?" Kirito asked, eager to distract them from the inordinate amount of attention.

Klein laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "Um, well, I-I kind of… slept here last night."

Kirito and Asuna nearly fell over as the others tried and failed to stifle their laughter. "You slept here? What about an inn?" Asuna questioned.

"Well, most of the inns were already full, and I knew we were meeting up here anyway, so I just slept here."

Before any more could be said, the noisy crowd suddenly went quiet. Everyone looked out to the center of the arena, where two men and a woman were standing. Their ornate robes and armor suggested that they were pretty advanced players. The man in the middle held something in his hand that somewhat resembled a microphone. It definitely served the same purpose, for when he spoke, no one had trouble hearing him.

"Welcome everyone!" He genuinely sounded happy to be there, "I'm so glad so many of you have come to our meeting. I hope you all had a great time celebrating last night." Suddenly his voice took a more serious tone. "But, let's get down to business. Our first order of business this morning is deciding the fate of this man!" He pointed to the east end of the stadium, where six men emerged from the entrance onto the field.

The lead man looked somewhat familiar, though neither Kirito nor his friends could figure out from where. He wore a black tunic and pants, dark armor, and short black hair that spiked in the front. However, his eyes were steel-gray, and a black and gold scabbard hung from a brown belt about his waist.

The "man" in question was undoubtedly Kayaba Akihiko. He was dressed in a red coat and black tunic. He was also unarmed as he marched in between four guards who appeared to be from the Knights of the Blood Oath.

His entrance was met with a series of shouts and "boos," even in spite of his efforts in fighting the Skull Reapers the day before. Kirito watched him intently as he looked about the crowd, who were obviously not happy to see him. The young man noted a look of disappointment in the older man's face. When they reached the other three, the crowd went silent again.

"This man is Kayaba Akihiko," the guy with the microphone continued, "our captor, Shadow, _gave_ him to us to be our leader. I don't know about you, but I find that suspicious in and of itself." His comment received a few shouts and nods of agreement. "But, as we all know, this man was responsible for the SAO incident! How do we know that he isn't behind all this again?"

This time, the crowd cheered in agreement. It was obvious the things did not look good for Kayaba, and for some reason it was making Kirito's stomach churn. What were Shadow's motives? Why did he give them a leader in the first place? Was it possible for Kayaba to be pulling the strings again?

"Today, we decide this man's fate. Will he lead us, or will he be cast out into exile? All those in favor of his exile make it known!"

The crowd in and outside the stadium exploded with angry shouts and cheers. Eventually, the chant, "Exile! Exile!" filled the air.

Their "host" grinned. "Very well, it looks like he will not lead us after all. He will be cast out into exile and-"

"WAIT!"

Kirito's friends were shocked as he leapt up and over the wall into the stadium below and slowly approached the group. He was acutely aware of the thousands of whispering voices all around him as he deliberately marched forward.

The announcer smiled when he recognized the approaching player. "Ladies and gentlemen! I am happy to introduce you to the legendary hero, the Dual-wielding Demon, Kirito!"

The crowd cheered, clapped, and whistled at his announcement. They didn't quiet down until Kirito reached the group in the center of the stadium. While the guards and the first three players treated him like a celebrity, the mysterious commander of the guards merely folded his arms and watched Kirito intently. It was under his hard, steely gaze that Kirito approached Kayaba.

"Do you remember what you told me when I fought Sugou?" Kirito queried.

"Yes," Kayaba answered.

"Did you mean it?"

"Yes."

"Then I trust you," Kirito's answer seemed to give the other man some comfort. "But, they will need more evidence that just my word, sorry."

"That's alright," Kayaba told him, "do what you have to."

As swift as lightning, Kirito drew his sword from his scabbard and plunged its black blade into Kayaba's shoulder. Kirito's face was hard and determined, as was Kayaba's after he grimaced a little. The guards took a step back as they and their leader reached for their swords. Fearing for her husband's safety, and against the advice of her friends, Asuna leapt into the stadium and ran towards them.

Everyone seemed to be holding their breath as they watched the small group of players. Those in the center watched as Kayaba's HP gauge decreased. It went into yellow, and then into orange. Just before it became red, Kirito withdrew his sword, returning it to the scabbard. The breath that everyone had been holding was released as Kayaba fell to his knees. Kirito then took the microphone and turned to the crowd.

"For those of you who don't know," he began as Asuna reached his side and took him by the hand, "three years ago, during the SAO incident, I defeated this man. In the process, I nearly lost my own life, as well as the life of my dearest loved one." Asuna's face became bright pink, but she squeezed his hand as he continued. "Everything I cared about was almost lost because of him. Yet, later on he came to my aid and helped me to save it all again. As you can see, his health has been greatly drained. If he was still in control, his immortal object status would not have allowed his health to drop so low.

"We have no idea who this Shadow is, what his motives are, nor what he is capable of. To fight him effectively with a minimal loss of life, we must have a leader who is strong, wise, and intelligent. I believe Kayaba Akihiko to possess the necessary traits for this. However the choice is still yours to be made."

Kirito was about to give the microphone back to the announcer when Asuna grabbed it from him. "I am Asuna, former Vice Commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath. I also almost lost everything at the hands of Kayaba Akihiko. I trusted him, yet he betrayed me. But, if despite all this, Kirito trusts him, then I do too." Kirito smiled appreciatively at her as she handed the microphone back to the announcer.

"All those in favor of Kayaba Akihiko's leadership?" The announcer's voice was low and humble now.

At first, there was complete silence, and Kirito wondered if he had not made a mistake. Then, Klein stood up and began to clap. He was soon followed by the rest of their friends, who were also followed by several others. Soon, the all those in attendance of the meeting were on their feet, clapping and cheering.

Kirito turned to Kayaba, who was still on his knees. Taking a healing crystal from his inventory, Kirito held it out to him.

"Heal," he commanded.

The blue crystal shattered, and Kayba's HP returned to full. The young hero then helped his former enemy to his feet. "We will follow your command."

A large castle dominated the top of the mountain that the city sat upon. Its many spires and turrets reached high into the sky. It comprised of three levels, with each level being sealed off by a high, thick stone wall. At the innermost and highest level, the castle's keep loomed over everything else.

Naturally, due to its strategic, tactical, and symbolic importance, Kayaba chose to use this fortress as his headquarters. However, as a gesture of humility and acknowledgement that all of his power derived from the approval of the people, he refused to use the throne room. So it was in a room much similar to the one he'd utilized at the Knights of the Blood Oath's old headquarters in Granzam that Kayaba held his first meeting.

Kirito, Asuna, and the man commander from the arena all stood before a long, curved table behind which Kayaba and his six bodyguards sat. The many, large windows lining the wall behind the table gave an excellent view all the way to the World Tree and Aincrad Castle.

After receiving approval from the players to lead them, Kayaba ordered the creation of the Unified Coalition Guild. This was to be the governing body under which all other guilds would operate in regards to pressing the front lines and seeking out the four keys. He then declared that this new guild's headquarters would be in the Millennial Castle. When he left, he requested that Kirito, Asuna, and the other man, Schatten, accompany him. Schatten, Kirito learned, was the one who ran along the back of the Skull Reaper. He was a skilled and high leveled player, and also didn't seem to like Kirito very much.

"I brought the three of you up here because I'm making the three of you my Vice Commanders." Kayaba told them. "Kirito and Asuna, I've seen the way you fight and know that when you are fighting to protect each other, you're almost unstoppable. Thus, I will keep you together in command of our main frontline forces. Schatten, you exhibited incredible power, skill, and bravery against the Skull Reapers. I'm placing you in charge of our special assault and recon forces."

"Yes sir," Schatten replied.

"It is strange," Kayaba mused, "this whole Skull Reapers situation. The game would never purposefully place so many boss level monsters together, let alone right next to a safe zone filled with low level players."

"It was almost as if they were waiting for people to leave the city." Asuna said, "It can't be a coincidence."

"There's no doubt," Schatten added, "it had to be Shadow's doing. He is in control of the entire system now."

"But why?" Kirito voiced the question that weighed in all of their minds. "Why is he doing all this, and why did he give us a leader and a city?"

"I have a theory," Schatten said matter-of-factly, though with an air of arrogance, "I think he might enjoy the conflict and the challenge. Maybe he would be bored if it was too easy for him, so he decided to do a little bit to put us at less of a disadvantage."

Though the theory made sense, the way he said it grated on Kirito's nerves. He had to resist opening his mouth and retorting, and instead balled his hands into fists. Asuna's hand lightly touched his and slid into his grasp. He looked to her and saw both concern and bewilderment on her face. Ignoring this, Kayaba went on.

"It is obvious that we must move as quickly as possible if we are defeat a force with so much power. Also, the quicker we proceed, the fewer people will die. Though I certainly don't expect everyone to help in the fight, we have a far larger force to use than we did before. Hopefully it will be sufficient. Our first task is to find the keys to the 90th floor of Aincrad. Schatten, for some reason we can't teleport back to Aincrad. I want you to assemble a team and investigate it. Kirito, Asuna, I'd like to meet with you again tomorrow to discuss how we will proceed here in Alfheim and how we will organize the search for the keys." The three newly appointed Vice Commanders nodded. "Very well, that is all. You are dismissed."

"So what do you think Kirito? Kirito?" Asuna's question cut right through Kirito's train of thought.

He blinked blankly a couple of times. "What?"

The young man cringed as he saw his beautiful wife place her hands on her hips, a glare appearing on her face. "You haven't even been listening to me, have you?"

"Eh," he was at a loss of what to say, "um… no, I'm sorry."

Her expression softened at his honesty. "Geez. What's wrong with you? You've been ever since the meeting."

"Nothing's wrong… I-I just," his eyes darted around the hallway as if the walls would give him something to say. Then, they fixated on something behind her, "Asuna, look."

"At what?" She said as she turned around.

Hanging on the castle wall behind her was a tapestry depicting a knight on horseback riding through the forest. The thick wall of trees behind him filled almost the whole tapestry. However, one tree wasn't a tree at all. Amongst the trees on the left side of the tapestry, an odd object had been added. It was black, flaring out at the base, bulging slightly around a red dot in the middle, and coming to a point at the top. It was the symbol that marked the way to the first key.

** So? What do you think? Please review and let me know. The plot will thicken in the next chapter. I'll be sure to update it soon!**

**Dark Guymelef **


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

A key in the Quagmire

Within a few hours of reporting their discovery, Kirito and Asuna had a sizeable force led by Kayaba to accompany them into the dungeon. They packed the winding hallway to capacity. When they all were assembled, Kayaba, Kirito, and Asuna approached the tapestry. Kayaba grabbed a handful and ripped it from the wall. As it fell to the ground, a door suddenly appeared in the wall. Kirito reached forward when a deep, gravelly voice that seemed to come from the door itself.

"Halt, adventurer, and listen well. For the labyrinth of corridors and halls beyond is not for the faint of heart. To continue on is to descend into the depths evil. But, choose wisely, for you may not have chance to pass this way again."

Instantly, a small screen popped up in front of every player, asking if they wanted to proceed and initiate the quest: "A key in the Quagmire." Each of them accepted, and the door slowly swung open. Inside was a small square room, with a hole in the middle of the floor and a ladder descending into the darkness below.

"I'll take my team first, Sir." Schatten said, "We'll recon the area."

"Alright," Kayaba answered.

Schatten and his team of twelve entered the room and one by one started climbing down the latter. A few moments after the last player disappeared into the depths of the darkness, Kayaba moved forward, motioning for the others to follow him, and they climbed down the ladder.

It was quite a long descent, in Kirito's opinion. For a time it actually got pitch black, then it began to light up again. Upon reaching the bottom, the players found themselves in a large tunnel lit by torches lining the walls. There was no sign of the recon team as they began to proceed into the dungeon.

"Yui."

The small black haired fairy appeared before Kirito. "Hi Pappa, hi Mamma," the advanced, young AI adopted by Kirito and Asuna smiled sweetly at them.

"Hi Yui!" Asuna greeted with a bright smile.

"Yui," Kirito began gently, "what information can you give us on this dungeon."

The young girl looked around nervously. "Um… I can't find any records in the system anywhere about this place. It's almost as if it shouldn't even exist."

"If that is true, then we must be very careful." Kayaba commented, "Anything could be down here."

The tunnel turned left, and then right. Then they found themselves at a three-pronged fork in the road with the tunnel continuing forward and also to the left and the right. Kayaba turned to the group, "I'll lead on the straight path. Kirito and Asuna will take the one on the right. Baba, you lead a group down the one on the left."

Everyone split up, the largest group going with Kayaba. Baba, a woman with long blue hair dressed in violet armor that revealed her midsection led a smaller group off to the left while the smallest group followed Kirito and Asuna. Though small, it consisted of players spanning all levels, from Kirito at the highest to some who were still level 5 or 6. These players naturally were kept in the center of the group.

They proceeded into the maze, eventually reaching a part of the tunnel that had sunken, murky waterway running down the middle of it. It was shortly after discovering this part of the dungeon that they stopped, here odd scurrying noises in the darkness ahead. Kirito halted the group and drew his sword, staring intently into the darkness.

Suddenly, a giant rat came charging out of the darkness. It was about the size of a dog, and ran like a cheetah. To many in the group's surprise, Kirito visibly loosened up when the thing came at him. As it drew closer, he made one swing with his black sword. The creature keeled over, dead. As its remains floated away, Kirito turned to the others.

"If we encounter any more creatures like that, let the lower level players fight them. We'll only intervene if necessary. They need the experience points."

The other players nodded in agreement, and they continued on. Over the course of the next two hours, all they encountered were more rats and lower level slimes. The high level players were starting to wonder if there was any need to worry at all.

Eventually, the group reached a point where the hall went straight into the darkness, but just inside their line of sight, the sludge water turned and went through an opening on the left, from which a terrible smell emanated. On the right side in front of the opening was a chest.

"Treasure chest! Dibs!" Klein shouted as he, Egil, and several others pushed and shoved, racing to the chest.

Kirito and Asuna just smiled and laughed at their friends' antics. Klein won and opened the chest, revealing a large sum of money, three blue healing crystals, and a large, powerful, gold war axe called War Cry. The weapon immediately ignited an argument between Egil and his shorter, red-headed companion.

"You don't use axes and that thing's more powerful than mine, give it to me!" Egil demanded.

"No!" Klein said, than he stopped to think about it. "Okay, I'll sell it to you for 300,000 gold."

"What!" his black, bearded friend yelled, "You just got a ton of money, why do you want that much?"

"Pay up, big man." Klein replied with a smirk on his face.

It was that moment that Kirito noticed something looming in the darkness behind them. "Guys! Watch out!"

The two ceased their arguing and all looked at the darkened hallway to see a large Minotaur emerge from the blackness. It stopped and stared them down for a few moments, then stomped, threw its head back, and roared.

"Everybody move!" Asuna commanded.

The large creature bent its head down and charged. Most of the players managed to get out of its way, but it did catch a couple of lower level players who weren't fast enough. Both were gored on its horns, killing them instantly. At the end of the hall it turned around and roared again at the group now hugging both walls.

"Down the hall to the left!" Kirito shouted.

The players ran for dear life down the hall. The smell became incredibly rank as they entered a large round chamber. The murky water filled most of the chamber floor, leaving a stone path able to comfortably fit about three people round the edges of the room. A large, dark, moss covered tree grew up from a small island in the room's center, its branches breaching the stone ceiling. A bright light somewhere above the tree gave light to the whole chamber.

The group split in two, running along both sides of the chamber. The Minotaur stopped at the chamber's entrance, unsure of which group to pursue. Kirito saw it take a few steps after Asuna's group and turned around, bringing his hands to his mouth.

"Hey you ugly cow! Over here!" He shouted.

Asuna, seeing what Kirito was trying to do huffed and angrily glared at him from across the room. "Kirito you dummy, stop it!" She then turned to the monster, "Don't listen to him, come over here!"

The other players just watched in unbelief, their jaws hanging open as the two tried to coax the enemy away from one another. Finally, Klein and Egil, who were on opposite sides of the room as well, shouted in unison, "Would you two just quit it?!"

The large monster decided Kirito looked like a greater target. It leapt into the air, its giant hooves smashing into the stone and unsteadying Kirito when it landed. It brought its arm back and attempted to crush Kirito under its fist, but he easily dodged the attack, delivery a couple of swift blows to its leg as he did so.

"Why you little," Asuna muttered in frustration as she began to run around the edge of the room to them. She wasn't sure if she was madder at the Minotaur or her husband. She stopped dead in her tracks, however, when a glob of brown goo came up out of the water and blocked her path. It was much larger than the slime they'd encountered before. Its center rose up to about waist height, revealing a pair of eyes and large mouth from which more sludge oozed. The brunette warrior looked around to see more of the creatures coming up out of the water all along the room. The two groups of players were already battling them.

Schatten and his team stood before a massive stone door. He looked it over carefully, and was about to open it when the sounds of clanking armor and rattling bones came from behind them. Instantly, the team whipped around, their weapons at the ready.

Five heavily armored skeletons, each carrying a sword and shield, came out of the darkness. They're levels each read 60. They formed a loose semi-circle, trapping the players between the boss door and their formation. In unison they crouched, raising their shields in front of them while lifting their swords in the air behind them.

"Great," Schatten said through gritted teeth. He moved into a combat ready stance with his men. "Here we go!"

The skeletons' eyes glowed red as they charged the players.

Kayaba slashed forward with his sword, its blade ripping a red gash in another armored lizard man. The enemy monster vanished in a burst of light. Kayaba then turned to the rest of his group as they slew two more.

"Quickly, this way. We must continue," the players' commander shouted.

The sound of many feet pounding the ground as they ran echoed off the walls of the stone hallway as they ran. After a while, the group moved to turn a corner, only to be stopped by four more lizard men and a few slimes. The rear of the group also found themselves facing more of the lizard men. They braced themselves for their enemies' attacks, and prepared to strike back.

Baba gave a scream as she fell, dead. The lower level players began to panic, and a few escaped their enemies. Their formation was broken, monsters and players mingled together in one massive group. But, even as they fought, more of the brown, gooey sludge monsters appeared from grates high in the walls above them.

"We need to get out of here!" One of the higher level players yelled. "As long as we stay they'll keep coming!"

"He's right." Another player confirmed, "We must leave. Everyone, follow me!" He took off down the hall further into the dungeon, followed closely by all who were able to proceed.

Asuna lunged forward with her weapon, killing yet another sludge monster. This gave her some breathing room, which she took to see how Kirito was doing. She saw her husband, his swords crossed above his head, on one knee in the center of a small crater. The Minotaur was continuously pounding on the swords, driving further into the ground. Quickly, Asuna picked up a rock and, charging it as much as she could, launched it at the giant monster.

The rock struck it in the head, and it turned to glare at her. But this was exactly the kind of opening Kirito needed. Like lightning, he vanished in a flash, moving so fast that only a dust cloud and the red slashes on the Minotaur's legs gave hint as to his whereabouts. The monster roared and Kirito kicked his feet out in front of him, sliding to an abrupt halt behind it. Taking advantage of his position, Kirito kicked off the ground, launching himself onto the monster's back. He hacked at it with both of his weapons, working himself up into a frenzy. The young hero moved with speed too great for the Minotaur to keep up. His swords steadily charged, flashing green and blue as he slashed into the beast. Finally, the Minotaur roared again as it burst into the small specks of light that floated away. Panting, he looked over to see Asuna on the other side of the room. The two shared a quick smile, and then moved to rejoin the other players.

The remaining monsters were quickly cut to ribbons. Once victory was achieved, the group continued on until the rank stench dissipated. Then the group stopped to rest.

Kirito's stomach growled. "I'm so hungry," he whined.

"Me too," Klein agreed, "Okay, lunchtime everybody!"

Asuna smirked as she took a lunch basket from their inventory. She set on the floor between her and Kirito, very pleased with the look of excited surprise on his face. His eyes grew big and his stomach growled again when she lifted back the cloth covering the basket to reveal two mouthwatering sandwiches.

"Oooh!" Kirito exclaimed in shocked delight, "When did you make these? Had I known we had these we would have stopped an hour ago."

Suddenly, Klein's face was inches from the basket. "Asuna's cooking? She's the best cook I know. Oooooh! It looks soooo goooood!"

Kirito frowned at his friend's desire for the food. "That was not meant for you. So STAY AWAY!" His fist connected with Klein's chin, sending him into the air and across the corridor.

Asuna giggled. She was flattered both by the two men's desire for her cooking, and by Kirito's childishly possessive protection of it. Both of them took the sandwiches from the basket and devoured them. Kirito ate a little more slowly as he tried to savor the taste.

After he finished, the raven haired young man let out a happy sigh as he leaned his head against the stone wall, bliss written all across his face. "So good." He whispered.

Then, the sound of footsteps echoed off the walls, coming from behind them. In an instant the players were on their feet, weapons at the ready. The few magic casters in their party began to cast defensive spells on the players in the front.

Kayaba and his group emerged from the darkness. Kirito and Asuna's group relaxed. Sadness passed upon everyone's features as they noticed the smaller sizes of both groups. Kayaba sighed and walked up to Kirito and Asuna.

"It seems we've all had a rough time. Any sign of Baba's group or the recon team?" Kayaba asked. Kirito and Asuna just shook their heads. Kayaba's lips pulled into a small frown. "Neither have we. But, we must press on."

"Where are the others?" Asuna asked after they'd been walking for a while. Fortunately, no enemy they'd encountered yet could measure up to the Minotaur. Most of the monsters were used as experience for the lower level players. Yet, they had yet to encounter anyone from the recon team or Baba's group.

"Wait!" Yui exclaimed abruptly. "Papa, someone's coming from ahead."

"More monsters?" Kirito asked through gritted teeth as he prepared to draw his swords.

"No, they're players!" The small, black haired fairy told them.

Sure enough a small group of players rounded the corner just ahead of them. Schatten was in the lead, the only one who didn't look utterly exhausted. The rest of his group consisted of the remains of the recon team and some of those from Baba's group. As players rushed to one another, greeting each other and expressing thanks that they were still alive, and mourning the loss of their dead friend, Kayaba approached Schatten.

"Is this all that's left?" His disappointment was evident in the commander's voice.

"As far as I know, Sir." Schatten responded. "My team mapped out the area up to the boss door, but we were ambushed there. We were returning when we encountered the remnants of Baba's group."

Mournful looks fell upon the faces of most of those present. Seeing tears silently falling down Asuna's face, Kirito drew her into his embrace. Schatten's features continued to be hard and emotionless. Kirito wondered if he was feeling anything at all.

"Alright," Kayaba addressed the entire party, "we'll take a break here so everyone can recover. Then we'll push on to the boss and attack it in force."

An hour later, the players found themselves standing before the massive doors of the boss room. Schatten once again approached the doors, pushing them open. The players then moved cautiously into the room, their heavy fighters moving in first.

The room was much like the circular chamber Kirito and the players in his group had encountered earlier. Torches lined the circular stone walls, giving light to the room. Most of the room was taken up by a massive pool of murky, mud-filled water in the middle. A large stone walkway ran all around the room, forming a ring around the pool.

As the players began to fan out, large bubbles formed in the center of the pool. Then suddenly, a massive mound of sludge erupted from the water. It quickly took shape, revealing a great, dark maw below two black eyes. The sludge extended backwards into the air from the top of its head, making it look like it was wearing a pointy hat. The creature had two arms. One was just a massive glob of dripping muck, while the other formed a large, solid hammer. The boss let out a roar as the name "Quagmire" appeared in the air above its head next to its six green health bars.

"Here we go!" Kirito shouted.

Sludge shot from the boss's arm at a small group of players on one section of the walkway. Those that failed to escape the shot were soon covered in the brown muck, which poisoned them and began to drain their health. The sludge slowly dripped over the sides and in between the bricks in the floor back down to the pool.

Kirito launched himself from the walkway onto the boss's head. He rapidly began to hack away at it, but soon found his feet sinking into the muck, which was slowly draining his health.

"What the-?" Kirito exclaimed as he almost started dancing in an attempt to free his feet enough to leap away.

The boss growled, raising its hammer arm in the air. It brought the weapon swiftly down on the walk way, causing the ground to shake. Two players were crushed under the blow, one dying and the other severely wounded. Since it used just about its whole body in the swing, Kirito fell off of its forehead. He was destined to plunge into the pool of dark, dirty goo when there was a flash of white, and Asuna caught him in her arms. The two landed safely on the other side of the room, at which point a few healers immediately began to work on Kirito.

"Alright, archers and magicians attack it from afar!" Kayaba shouted his orders to the players. "Everyone stay away from the sludge! Close combat fighters, try to find an opportunity to attack it!"

Players with long range weapons immediately opened fire. Flames burst against the boss and droves of arrows pierced the goo. The boss slowly turned, and then suddenly made a swipe over a large area with its sludge arm. All who were caught in the attack were poisoned, while a few were even knocked on their backs. The attack itself did only moderate damage at the most, but its main purpose seemed to be to poison its opponents.

The hammer again went into the air, smashing down on four more players. None of them died, but they were all badly wounded. However, Kirito took notice of the giant hammer as it slowly slid off the walk way. Without warning, he dashed over to it, striking it with his swords. Several other players in the vicinity followed his example, closing in on the hammer and attacking it as it moved back towards the boss's body. Once its tip reached the edge, the hammer quickly returned back to its normal position.

"Everyone attack the hammer arm while it's sliding off!" Kayaba announced.

The Quagmire was turning again, its hammer arm right next to Asuna's position on the path, when the face of the hammer suddenly turned sideways. The boss lowered it so that it was almost even with the walkway, causing Asuna's stomach to churn as she realized what it was about to do.

"Hug the walls!" She screamed as the boss suddenly spun rapidly, its hammer arm extending out over the stone path. Several players made it to the wall, just out of the hammer's reach, but most were caught by the swing.

The damage wasn't as significant as its crushing blow, but it knocked everyone flat except for a few players at the end of the sweep who were pulled into the muck. Their health quickly drained as they nearly drowned, but their bars reached zero before they were completely submerged, and the air filled with hundreds of tiny light particles from their bodies.

The players resumed their bombardment of the Quagmire. Those possessing healing magic were numerous enough to fortunately quickly repair most of the damage done by the boss's attacks, though the moves with the hammer were difficult to completely heal before it made another move. Though it was safe for the most part from the heavy-hitting melee fighters, the boss's main weakness was its slow movement.

After some time, its HP went orange. At this point, the Quagmire suddenly roared. The roar caused the whole room to shake uncontrollably, making all of the players stagger. Almost instantly, once the mighty shout was over, the boss made another sweep with the hammer. As they had no time to recover from the roar, nearly all the players were caught in the attack.

Egil had the misfortune of being near the end of the sweep. As the hammer pulled back to its master, it dragged him and two other players to the edge of the walkway. Egil managed to grab hold of the edge while the other two fell into the poisonous pool. His hands were quickly losing their grip, and soon he was hanging only by the fingertips of one hand. Just as he was about to slip and fall, Kayaba grabbed his hand and pulled him up. The healers were rapidly trying to repair the damage done, but this time it was nearly impossible for them to get to everyone.

"Keep fighting! It's almost done." Kayaba encouraged everyone. He and Egil quickly jumped out of the way as the hammer tried to crush them again.

This time it didn't hit anyone, and the nearby players quickly swarmed the massive weapon. They used as many skills and power attacks as possible, covering it with red gashes that slowly closed as it lifted back into the air.

When its bar became red, the Quagmire roared again, bringing the same result as last time. This time however, its hammer arm made two sweeps across the players. A few died, but no one fell into the middle this time. They rose to their feet, the healers working to heal the weaker players first as per Kayaba's orders.

Kirito's bar was red, and he could see that Asuna's was orange. He realized that not many would survive another attack like that. Not willing to give it a chance, he turned to Klein.

"Klein," Kirito shouted over the din of battle, "I need you to launch me into the air."

"What?!" Klein asked, "Are you nuts?"

"Don't argue with me, just do it!" Kirito demanded.

The older friend obediently kneeled down, his hands forming a place for Kirito's foot. The dual-wielding warrior turned to the boss and flung his swords at it as hard as he could. They embedded in the side of the Quagmire's head as Kirito placed his foot in Klein's hands.

"Kirito, no!" Asuna screamed with watery eyes when she saw what he was doing.

She was too late. Utilizing Klein's strength, Kirito flew into the air. He came at just the right angle. He grabbed hold of the hilts of the swords, dragging them across the monster's head as he continued up. This slowed him down somewhat, and once he was above the top of the head, he withdrew the blades, crossing them in front of him. The young hero seemed to float for an instant as the blades charged. Then, just as he began to fall, he made a very fast, angled lunge downward, his charged weapons once again cutting into the creature's head as he passed.

The boss groaned as the move drained the last of its HP. Kirito threw his swords in midair, embedding them in the side of the walkway. He used them as leverage to jump to safety, then came back and retrieved them. The boss glowed white, then exploded. "Congratulations" appeared in the air as the pool drained into nothing, revealing a stone pit with a white gem lying on the floor in the middle.

Kirito sank to his knees, winded and exhausted, while Kayaba walked to retrieve the key. Asuna was soon by her husband's side, scolding him for the risk he took. All eyes were on Kayaba as he picked up the gem, seeing its description and its name, "The First Key." He then held it in the air amid cheers and cries of victory from the players.

**As always, please review! I enjoy hearing your opinions, and possible suggestions or ideas. See you later!**

** Dark Guymelef**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Bliss and Battle

November 11, 2027

"Papa?"

Kirito stirred at the sound of the voice. Slowly, his eyelids began to part. Through partially open eyes, he could make out a shape very close to him. He blinked and opened his eyes fully. As his eyes focused, Yui's face came into view mere inches from his.

The black haired man gave a surprised yelp and tried to jump backwards. However, there was no more bed to be had behind him, and he ended up on the floor. As he lay there groaning, Yui's head popped out over the edge of the bed. Since the start of their leave from the frontlines, the young girl had opted to take on her childlike form that she used when they first met her.

"Good morning!" Asuna greeted cheerfully as she entered the room, a tray-full of breakfast in her hands. She completely ignored the fact that Kirito was on the floor. She approached the bed, Yui sitting up and smiling, greeting her mother.

Kirito had not yet seen the food, but as the first whiffs of the scent wafted past his nose, all remaining grogginess vanished in an instant. He leapt to his feet, his eyes wide and his nostrils flaring. He turned and stared hungrily at the tray.

"Woooah!" He exclaimed excitedly.

Asuna giggled, earning her a smile from her husband. He reached over, placing his hand gently on the side of her face, and brought her lips to his. For a second the two were lost in total bliss. They only separated when Yui reminded them she was there.

"Awww," the little girl said. Kirito and Asuna separated with light blushes on their faces and turned to see her staring dreamily at them.

"Thank you," Kirito said somewhat sheepishly.

"You're welcome," Asuna replied just as shyly.

"What are we going to do today?" Yui asked eagerly.

For the last five months, the players under the command of Kayaba had aggressively pushed the frontlines in an effort to locate the other keys and figure out why they couldn't get into Aincrad. Though the players were given leave often and rotated regularly, the commanders and most of the high profile guilds had not had a break the entire time. Finally, with Alfheim's capital, Arun, in their sights, Kayaba authorized leave for the exhausted leaders.

Kirito and his little family chose to retire to a small, peaceful village they had taken about a month ago. The towns now acted much like dungeons, with the players needing to wipe the settlements clean of all monsters and then fight a boss. This particular village was one of the easier ones to take, and as such held no particularly terrible memories for the family.

After breakfast, the three decided to go for a walk through the village and the surrounding countryside. Kirito and Asuna walked hand in hand down the cobblestone path under the shade of beautiful trees while Yui skipped and sang ahead of them. The couple soaked in the warm sunlight and took full advantage of the peaceful moment. While they fought for powerful purposes and still managed to have fun and joy while on the frontlines, being in a place so free of death and violence was rejuvenating.

"Oh Kirito, look." The young man turned his gaze to follow Asuna's outstretched finger. She was pointing to a large tree atop a small hill next to them. The gentle breeze lightly rustled through the leaves. "Let's go sit down up there, I bet the view is great!"

"Alright," Kirito answered, already starting to lead his wife up the slope.

"Yui!" Asuna called, "We'll be under this tree, ok? Don't go off too far."

"Yes Mama," Yui replied.

Kirito sat down and leaned against the tree, pulling Asuna down into his lap. She breathed a happy sigh and snuggled up against him while his arms wrapped her in a loving embrace. Kirito looked around, noticing that the hill wasn't tall enough to give them much of a view of anything.

"I guess the view's ok," he commented.

"It's fine," came Asuna's whispered reply. Kirito looked down to see her eyes closed, a happy smile on her face. At that point he was pretty sure Asuna had an ulterior motive for sitting under the tree, and she was enjoying it right now, not that he minded.

He looked back up, watching Yui play around at the bottom of the hill. Peace and joy swelled within him. "You know, I think this is how I've always wanted to live back in the real world," he told the brunette.

She opened her eyes to also watch the young girl play. "Yeah, I agree. This feels almost perfect." She was quiet for a moment before continuing, "It's for this, this future for us, that I fight."

"Yeah," Kirito replied, "I know when we go back that I'm going to fight even harder, so that we can have this."

Kirito walked alone down the cobblestone path to the village. He was returning from a successful hunt for the family's dinner. At the top of a small hill overlooking the quiet hamlet, Kirito stopped and stared, thinking about all that had happened simply because he put on the NerveGear when SAO was released.

Continuing down the path, Kirito was almost to the village when a strange blue light caught his eye. It was coming from behind some bushes in a grove of trees to his right. Curious, the young man walked over to the source. He found it to be a flower, its petals an illuminating blue color. Kirito had never seen such a flower before.

He decided that this would be perfect to give to Asuna. His black, gloved hand reached down and curled around the base of the flower. He pulled, but it didn't budge at all. Deciding that maybe he hadn't pulled hard enough, Kirito pulled harder. The flower still did not move.

Kirito decided to look at the thing's description to see if he was missing something. His eyes widened and his determination to get the flower increased when he learned what it was.

The Life Flower: One of the rarest and most beautiful flowers in Alfheim. It can be consumed to give one the power to bring life to one deceased player. Its nectar can also be used in making potent healing crystals.

Kirito grabbed the base of the flower with both hands and pulled with all of his might, grunting as he did so. The flower would not budge. Sweat rolled down the side of his face as he tugged again and again. Finally, he stopped and scratched his head, wondering how to get it.

"It appears that you don't have a farming skill high enough to harvest it," the voice behind him nearly made him jump.

Kirito turned to see a large, middle-aged man wearing a straw hat, a red shirt, overalls, and well-used leather gloves. He smiled at Kirito, "You'll need a maxed farming skill to harvest that flower."

Kirito's face fell. Then, an idea came to him. He smirked, finding himself clever as he opened his inventory menu. A shovel suddenly appeared in his hands, and he held it up in triumph as he prepared to dig the flower out.

"I don't need to harvest it," Kirito claimed triumphantly, "just digging it up will suit me just fine."

The farmer tried to protest, but he was simply ignored. Kirito brought the shovel down to dig up the dirt, shouting as if he were about to do battle with it. To his great surprise, the sparks flew and the shovel dinged off the dirt like it was metal. He furrowed his brow in confused frustration, trying again and again all around the luminescent blue flower with the same result.

Now determined to save face by proving he could outsmart the system, Kirito began to slowly back away, constantly clanging his shovel against the ground. After several steps, his shovel finally bit into the soil. He threw the small amount of dirt over his shoulder, crying out victoriously. Then, he saw the distance between himself and the flower; he was about 10 feet away.

"Aww man! There's no way I can dig up and carry all that!" Kirito exclaimed angrily, throwing the digging instrument on the ground.

"You didn't let me finish." The elder man, having watched Kirito's attempts with a rather amused look, stepped up to the flower, "You see, I have maxed my harvest skill. I'll just pick it for you." He easily took the Life Flower in his grasp. Then he offered it to Kirito, "My name is Lammen, it's nice to finally meet you in person Vice-commander Kirito."

Before Kirito could respond, a vine snaked up behind Lammen and grabbed the flower from him. The two players turned to see a massive living plant rise up above them. In had two large leaves and a bulbous head covered in a red and white pattern sat on top of its large stem. Its single, toothy maw opened wide as it let out a roar at the two.

Kirito's shoulders drooped as a dumbfounded look crossed his face. "You're kidding me. What is this? Mario?" The plant monster seemed to chuckle as it tossed the blue flower into its mouth. Obviously, this did not go over well with Kirito. "Hey you overgrown piranha plant! That's my flower, _give it back_!"

He launched himself into the air, both swords drawn. Almost all of its health was drained as the two blades cut upwards across its face. In midair Kirito changed direction, diving back downward. He threw both of the swords, impaling them in the plant. He grabbed the hilts of the swords as he passed, dragging them down through the thieving vegetation. The monster screamed before bursting into light.

Kirito picked up the flower with a smile on his face before placing it in his inventory. He turned around and saw Lammen with his eyes wide and his jaw hanging open. "That was easily one of the coolest things I have ever seen," the slack-jawed farmer said.

"Um, thanks. Oh, and thanks for the flower."

Lammen smiled knowingly, "I'm sure that pretty wife of yours will love it."

"How did you know I was going to give it to her?" Kirito asked curiously.

The pleasant farmer laughed, "I'm not sure if you're aware, but a popular topic amongst players is the devotion you two share. You almost can't call it a guess after seeing you two together."

The two men resumed their walk to the village. They talked about everything from the frontlines to the fish in the nearby river. Kirito learned that Lammen fought on the frontlines for a little while before almost losing his life. After that, he and his wife left to live in one of the first towns they cleared, and then moved here after the players secured it.

"I'm curious Kirito, you and your family are so happy together, why do you risk it all by fighting on the frontlines?"

Kirito smiled, "In the real world, Asuna and I aren't married yet. Our dream is to have a quiet life together, with a real family. It's to achieve that dream, and to protect Asuna, that I fight. Plus, we have a responsibility to everyone else to give our best to free everyone from this game as soon as possible."

"I see," Lammen replied thoughtfully, "you know, the village is having a dance tonight at the square. You and your family should come. It's so nice to see young people so devoted to each other."

"I'll talk to her, but I'll bet she wants to come." Kirito said.

"Papa!" Yui's arms wrapped around his waist the moment he walked in the door.

"Hey, Yui," Kirito greeted as he returned the hug. He then retrieved the meat from his inventory, "You hungry?"

"I'm starving," the little girl replied with a smile.

"You are late, Kirito," Asuna said from the doorway to the kitchen.

"Yeah, sorry. I got a little sidetracked trying to get this," he pulled out the luminescent sapphire flower, "for you."

In the shadows cast by the setting sun, the Life Flower glowed bright, lighting up Asuna's face. Kirito smiled, a warm feeling growing within him at the shocked look of pleasant surprise on the brunette's face. She gently took the flower from his outstretched hand. Then she looked up, her eyes meeting his. He brought her into his arms as the love he saw in her eyes made his desire to hold her irresistible. Their lips came together in a slow kiss into which they each tried vainly to express the full reality of their love.

When they separated, Asuna resumed staring into the deep, yet gentle blackness of Kirito's eyes. "I love you Kirito. Thank you."

"I love you too," Kirito whispered.

The sun's last rays of light were long gone by the time the three of them arrived at the village square. The dance was in full swing already. Four long tables laden with food lined the four sides of the square. In the center the villagers had erected a large bonfire around which the dancers moved.

Kirito and Asuna waited for the current song to end before they walked out on the dance floor themselves. As the song started, all of the dancers placed the palms of their right hands against each other and slowly moved in a circle while staring into each other's eyes. For the young couple in black and white, the whole world disappeared. They moved and spun, completely in sync with one another.

They were so deep into the dance when the music suddenly turned slow they didn't notice. They simply held each other close and slowly swayed back and forth. They kissed just as the song ended.

"I love you, Asuna," Kirito whispered.

United Nations Headquarters, New York City, New York, USA

The conference room was packed as national leaders from all over the world poured into the U.N. Headquarters building to discuss the investigation into rescuing the Alfheim players and the manhunt for the man calling himself "Shadow." This was to be the third meeting to discuss these events, which were taking an ever increasing interest in the international community. Several nations had already tried hacking directly into the game, only to have their own defense servers hacked almost immediately. The murmuring crowd quieted down as the President of the United States stepped up to the pulpit to open the meeting.

"My friends and fellow leaders of the world, we are here-"

He didn't get to finish. The alarm suddenly sounded and the doors to the room were sealed tight. A large screen on the wall behind the President flashed to life, revealing a figure in a chair in front of some windows. The light streaming in from the other side of the glass cast a shadow over the man, perfectly obscuring him from being identified.

"Thank you, Mr. President. I will be taking control of this meeting now. On the outset, let me inform every one of you that the building is in lockdown, and will not be released until I say so. And now, let us begin.

"I am Shadow. I have decided to meet with you all to discuss some things." He was interrupted as shouting and yelling erupted from the leaders he had just taken captive. He simply shook his head to silence them, "Tsk, tsk. Now, let us all be civilized shall we? As I was saying, I have a few things to discuss with you. First, let me tell you how impressed I am that you have listened to my warning and not attempted to directly remove the players from the game. However, I am disappointed by your continuous and futile attempts to gain access to the game. Thus, I have come to you now to make some demands. I will give you ten hours to discuss them.

"I am willing to make a trade. I will release the players from the game after, and only after, you cease attempts to hack it and I have confirmed unilateral control of the world's entire nuclear arsenal. I will return in ten hours for your answer. The clock is ticking."

The screen went blank, leaving the occupants of the room to slowly process the request. They stared blankly at the screen for a moment, then turned and whispered to one another. The President of the U.S. stepped to the pulpit again to begin their discussion.

November 12, 2027

Asuna awoke to an unpleasant surprise. Both of them had received messages from Kayaba calling them back to duty. So it was with disappointment and loving feelings and memories from the previous night that they started the journey back. They walked hand in hand, meeting up with many of their friends as they made the trek to the frontline command post near a town called Golga.

Upon arrival, they were guided to a large room inside the small fortress. The room was already filled with many guild leaders and high level players. Kayaba and Schatten stood next to a table onto which a map was pinned. Kirito and Asuna joined them as Kayaba began the briefing.

"Alright, thank you all for coming," the players' commander began, "we are here because in two days, we will launch our assault on Arun." His announcement caused many whispers to circle about the room. They stopped at once when he continued, "Yesterday, Schatten and our recon team discovered a road through the woods to Arun that is void of monsters. We will march our force down this path, which will take us to Arun's southern edge. We suspect that the next key to our freedom also lies within the city."

"What makes you think that?" Kirito asked.

Schatten was the one who answered, "Because my team found that the city isn't just guarded by monsters, but by what appears to be a trained, military force."

More whispers circulated amongst the crowd before Kayaba spoke again, "They seem to be well prepared for a ground assault, though less ready to resist attacks from the air. So we will split our forces into three groups. I'm sorry Asuna, Kirito, but I'm afraid this time you two will have to be separated. Asuna and I will lead the main ground assault force, while Schatten and Kirito will lead their own air assault groups. The main force will attack first, drawing away most of the enemy's defenses. Then, Schatten will attack the middle levels with his forces and Kirito will take the highest levels of the city. Our ground forces will then break through the enemy lines and link up with each air assault force respectively. Any questions?" When no one answered he continued, "We will take today and tomorrow to prepare, then we march on Arun."

November 14, 2027

"I don't like this," Asuna said with a frown on her face.

"You don't like what?" Kirito looked up from the inventory menu he was checking for the fifth time.

"What if you get trapped up there? What if we don't reach you in time? What if you encounter the boss?" Her voice was starting to crack, which brought Kirito to his feet. "Wha-what if you…"

"Shh." Kirito wrapped his arms around her, placing his hand on the back of her head as she buried her face into his shoulder. "Everything's going to be alright. I promise."

"At least take Yui with you," Asuna pleaded.

"No," Kirito's answer was hard, leaving no room for questions, "I need her to be with you. My group's got a lot of high level players; I need to make sure you have as much protection as possible."

"Don't worry Asuna," husband and wife turned to see Lyfa standing in the open doorway, "I'll be with him. I'll make sure he doesn't do anything reckless; and if he does I'll let you know as soon as I see you."

They pulled away and Asuna wiped the tears from her eyes. "Thank you, Lyfa." The two girls smiled at each other. Kirito was just grateful that Asuna felt comforted.

"Come on," Lyfa said, "their forming up outside."

The three left to take their positions in the lead group of a massive column of players. As the last players joined the formation, Kayaba drew his sword and pointed it at the horizon where the World Tree rose into the sky. The sound of a millions of feet against the ground filled the air as they began their march.

**Whew. Sorry that took so long. I'll have the next one up soon. Please read & review! See ya.**

**Dark Guymelef**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Lethal Intent

November 14, 2027- Near Arun

The air surrounding the army of players was so tense it felt as if you could cut it with a knife. Kirito was spending as much time as possible with Asuna before they were to separate. The two walked hand in hand, silently attempting to allay the tension in each other. Kayaba stayed in the lead, his face emotionless. Schatten was in a particularly nasty mood, nearly biting Kirito's head off when he asked what was wrong. The others marched on, each quietly reflecting on whatever they deemed to be most important, wondering if they would live to see the end of this conflict.

When at last the outer walls of the city were in sight, Kayaba halted the army and nodded to Kirito and Schatten. Schatten immediately turned and left, his cape billowing behind him as he and his men moved away from the main column. Kirito turned and looked into Asuna's eyes one last time before placing a quick kiss on her lips.

"I'll see you after the battle. Yui, take good care of Mama for me, ok?"

"Okay Papa!" the little fairy said from her seat on Asuna's shoulder.

Asuna mouthed the words "I love you," to which Kirito responded with a smile and a squeeze of her hand before he turned to join his men as well. Asuna watched his back longingly as he resisted the urge to turn around. He was already out of sight when Kayaba turned to face the main assault force. He drew his sword from its place in his shield and pointed it straight out to his side.

Responding to the signal, the players fanned out, switching from a column to a battle line formation. Each guild leader stood at the head of his guild, with Asuna at the head of the front assault group. Those skilled in powerful long range attacks were near the front, behind a wall of heavy fighters. The weaker or smaller guilds were lined up behind, ready to fan out as soon as the front group breached the outer walls.

Kayaba turned back around to face the city; He lifted his sword into the air, and swung it forward. Once again, the feet of approximately two million players pounded against the ground as they marched forward. The battle for Arun had begun.

The moment the first line marched out of the cover of the trees the players with the longest ranges sent a volley of powerful destructive spells and arrows at the first wall. The top of the wall was shredded, showering the ground below with chunks of stone. This first strike revealed a line of figures clad in black armor lining the top of the wall behind the ramparts.

The armored soldiers that survived the first volley responded by releasing a cloud of arrows into the air. Their lethal missiles rose high into the air, before the laws of gravity brought the lethal cloud down upon the players below. Many blocked the incoming arrows, while others were injured. Fortunately, the players suffered no losses with this first volley. However, the players' instinct to dodge or deflect nearly caused their formation to break.

"Stay in formation!" Asuna turned and shouted to the others in an effort to keep the formation steady. She cringed slightly as an arrow grazed her bare shoulder.

"Asuna! Eyes to the front!" Kayaba commanded just as the city's gates swung open.

Hundreds of armored soldiers rushed out from behind the city walls. The players braced themselves as the onslaught of steel approached them. The sounds of steel clashing against steel rang out amongst the war crimes as the melee began.

The sky darkened when two large airborne groups soared overhead. From his position at the head of his battalion, Kirito viewed the chaos below. His sharp eyes spied the brunette in her white and red dress as she fought her way through the black force assaulting them. He frowned as his anxiety and fear became evident upon his face.

"Hey, Kirito!" The raven-haired man looked back over his shoulder at Klein, "Don't worry man! Asuna knows how to take care of herself."

Kirito forced a smile upon his face to show his appreciation for his friend's attempt to comfort him. His black coat billowed about him underneath the black wings sprouting from his back as they progressed forward. Movement below them caught his attention, and he looked down to see Schatten and his force diving down toward the city's center.

"Kirito! Ahead!" He heard Lyfa yell. His head snapped forward again, and he saw a small cloud of black dots rising into the sky towards them. As they grew larger, Kirito could distinguish several different kinds of winged monsters.

"Ready all weapons!" Kirito commanded as he drew his own swords from their scabbards upon his back.

"Incoming!" Recon yelled as the first monsters zipped past them to the interior of their allied cluster.

Kirito brought himself upright in the air in preparation for a gargoyle that was coming straight for him. It reached out one hand in an attempt to claw the man, but he easily dodged it. The winged menace soon found itself impaled on both blades, which crossed over each other inside of the gargoyle. Kirito executed a scissor move, followed quickly by a downward slash on the gargoyle's head, effectively draining all of its health. The monster burst into light as its victorious opponent sped through the air, spreading a path of death and destruction.

Lyfa's blade clashed against the blade of harpy, bringing the butt-ugly creature's face uncomfortably close to the girl. With a grunt, the sylph pushed the harpy away. Before either could make another move, a small burst of flame exploded against the winged monster, causing it to vanish.

Lyfa looked up to see Recon smiling down at her. They shared a swift moment of silent affection before both were engaged by opponents once more. The sky flashed with explosions of light and flame as the players slowly pushed their way towards the city.

Once the ground forces breached the gates and began scaling the remains of the walls, they found that the hard part was just beginning. Their enemy was well entrenched, with blockades occurring every few blocks and small squads of enemy forces hiding out in almost every building, plus the monsters that the players would have had to clear anyway.

Asuna parried the blow of an armored skeleton, making it stagger backwards. Before it could recover, she sent a series of lightning fast stabs at it with her rapier. Its chest plate quickly cratered and crumbled before being ripped to shreds. One last slash finished the monster, leaving her free to fight off more.

Using his unique skill, Divine Blade, Kayaba turned into a nearly unstoppable juggernaught. One sweep of his sword felled multiple opponents at once if the spacing was right. After slaying three more soldiers, he quickly turned and raised his shield to block the slash of a clawed hand from some sort of werewolf. He stabbed forward with his sword, making his opponent stagger backwards. The commander advanced, this timing making a sweeping motion with his blade, decapitating the beast.

The shudders on an upper floor window of a nearby building suddenly burst open, revealing an enemy soldier with a crossbow aimed and ready to fire. He squeezed the trigger, releasing a powerful bolt that struck an unsuspecting player in the side of the head, killing him. At Kayaba's command, a storm of arrows, balls of fire, and bolts of lightning blew a hole where the window was, killing the crossbowman within. Immediately the players involved in the attack each turned to his or her own target.  
Kayaba felt something grab hold of his ankle. He looked down to see the upper half of a skeleton on the ground, one hand on his ankle and the other holding the hilt of a short sword. As it raised its weapon to strike, Kayaba quickly stabbed it with the tip of his blade. Its HP gauge dropped to nothing as it burst into hundreds of tiny specks.

Klein slashed the arm of the gargoyle in front of him, then its chest. He felt frustration well up inside his bosom when the creature's health bar revealed that it still had just a little left. His frustration grew when a fist smacked him in the back. He turned, slashing at his new opponent, another gargoyle, whilst ducking under the swing of the weaker one. He spun about, finally taking out the first monster. The blade of his katana flashed a golden hue as he brought it down on the newcomer. The monster lost a large amount of health, and was subsequently stunned. Klein wasted no time as he finished it off and continued forward with the group.

Kirito plunged the black blade of his sword up to the hilt in the chest of some sort of humanoid wasp. As the remains of its health swiftly drained, he threw the sword forged by Liz behind him, impaling a harpy. Both creatures died at the same time, and Kirito had to hurry to catch his green, dragon diamond sword before it fell.

He turned, and saw nothing but clear sky between himself and the city. He looked at the fray behind him to see his forces emerging victoriously. "Follow me!" The young warrior cried as he led the way to their objective.

However, their battle in the air gave the militarized force in their sector of the city time to prepare against the coming attack. As the players descended on the city, they were met by many skilled shots from ranged fighters below. Kirito deflected a dozen arrows when they came within reach, though one still buried itself in his shoulder. All that accomplished was the loss of a sliver of health and infuriating the already aggravated hero.

A cloud of dust shot up around him as he appeared to crash into a rooftop. The cloud was violently parted to reveal Kirito, his swords glowing, utilizing his exceedingly great reaction time to pulverize the defenders on the roof. Kirito slowly stood from a crouched position as thousands of the specks of light blew off the rooftop. He scanned the area around him as the players of his unit fell upon their enemy.

November 14, 2027- Top-secret underground facility, somewhere in the U.S.

Two large, reinforced steel doors rolled back to reveal a large group of men. All of them were dressed head to toe in formal business attire, except for one man in a blue military uniform, who led them into the room. The room was large, with the other three walls being lined with a wide variety of screens and keyboards. These were separated into stations, at which sat one man each. These men were obviously not military or government officials. They were dressed in casual attire, and gave off an easygoing atmosphere as opposed to the uptight newcomers. In the center of the room two massive, technological towers stood. These two towers made up the core of the super computer the men were using. The room was cooled by four large fans in the ceiling above.

"If you will follow me Mr. President, Prime Minister," the man in the uniform, identifiable as a colonel by the eagles on his shoulders, gestured to the President of the U.S. and the Japanese Prime Minister to follow him. Then he began to explain the operation, "These men are the team I mentioned earlier. They are the best hackers in the entire world, gathered here for the purpose of hacking into the game system. We have them split up into three teams. Team Alpha is to restore the logoff program in the game, Team Bravo is to restore as many security features as possible, such as respawns, etc., while Team Charlie is to keep Shadow occupied and see if they can shut him out of the system.

"In a few moments, they will initiate a system the mimics our system _exactly. _When they initiate the hack, Shadow will try to back-hack us. Team Charlie will dump him into this fake system and keep him busy while the others complete their objectives. Assuming everything goes according to plan, we will not only free the players and restore the game to default settings, but we will also know the location and identity of Shadow so he can be apprehended."

"It all sounds very hopeful, Colonel," the Japanese Prime Minister said, "but let us see if it actually works."

The Colonel turned to the hackers seated throughout the room, "You heard the man, let's rescue those people! Initiate the hack!" Their fingers flew across the keyboards and the screens flashed as the hack began.

"I got him!" One of the men from Charlie called out a few seconds later, "We've got his signature, rerouting him to the mimic system now… Okay, he's in the system. We'll keep him busy."

"Wow, he's burning through the system fast," another man muttered.

"We're in the security system!" Another voice reported.

Suddenly, the lights flickered and the computer screens froze. Some of the men tried to keep going while others looked at their screens in bewilderment.

"What's going on?" the Colonel asked, "Somebody talk to me!"

"I don't know sir, everything just froze."

Bolts of electricity flew up and down the two towers and sparks spat up from the monitors and keyboards as the main lights went out and the fans shut down. Then, each of the monitors suddenly burst as the computer went dead, showering the hackers with shards of glass. One of the Secret Service agents tried to open the reinforced steel doors, but they refused to respond.

"What's going on Colonel?" The President asked from his crouched position on the floor. Everyone ducked when the monitors exploded.

"I'm not sure Mr. President!" The officer answered.

Suddenly, one of the hackers flew out of his chair, slamming against the computer tower. His lifeless body sunk to the floor as several others went limp, their deaths accompanied by the sickening sounds of something large piercing their flesh. Everyone one watched in fear as tall, lanky, shadowy shapes began to slowly climb out of the broken monitors. Standing at full height, the black shadows nearly reached the ceiling. One lanky arm ended in four claw-looking digits, while the other ended in a sharp point. One of the creatures swung forward with its pointed arm, sending the officer soaring through the air until he smacked the doors. He was dead on impact.

"Protect the President and Prime Minister," one of the agents shouted, "open fire!"

One last swing from Kirito's sword slew the armored AI in front of him. He turned to see the Citadel, the highest building in Arun, standing before him. This was the extreme, the last building his forces needed to clear. Amidst the melee surrounding him, Kirito walked to the building's doors.

"Follow me!" Kirito shouted to the nearest players not already engaged against an enemy. He kicked the tall, wooden doors open, then charged in at the head of the small group.

They fanned out, only to find themselves in a dark, empty lobby. No monster or enemy stirred or rushed out to meet them. They looked around, surprised by the sudden lack of resistance. Kirito turned to Egil, who was among the men that followed him.

"What's with this?" Egil asked the question they were all thinking, a puzzled expression on his face.

"I don't know," Kirito answered. "I honestly thought the boss would be in here."

At that moment the ground shook as something large and heavy landed on the building's roof. They heard a muffled roar from outside, and turned to look at the open door. The players outside were running from whatever was on the roof. Kirito dashed onto the street, followed closely by the others. They looked up, their eyes widening by what they saw.

A massive black dragon sat on the roof of the Citadel. Its tail was wrapped around the center tower, while its massive feet were splayed outward so it could keep its balance on the roof. Its large head, rimmed with horns, stuck out over the edge of the rooftop. Its red eyes glared menacingly at the players below. The name "Diabold" appeared above its head, along with six green bars.

"Run!" Kirito shouted at the top his longs as the boss let out a roar that made their bodies rumble. The players scattered just as the street was embroiled in flames. The dragon descended from its perch onto the street, and proceeded to give chase.

One hard jab from Asuna's rapier not only deflected the golem's attack, it caused the monster's defense to lower. Open to attack, the brunette darted forward, sending a series of sharp, accurate stabs at the monster's chest, and then swung at its head. The last of its health drained, the image of her stone enemy became distorted before it burst into shards of light.

The Vice-commander was about to move on when she noticed a message in her inbox. It was one of the battle messages, used by the players to communicate over long distances during battle. These were sent to all players involved, since there was usually little time to select a specific person. She briefly opened the message, and was about to run back into the fray when, while scanning the words, Kirito's name popped out at her. She stopped and read the message fully. It stated that his forces were engaged against the boss at the top of the city.

She looked up into the sky. A translucent, blue wall rose high into the air, encircling the top of Arun. Smoke rose in great plumes from inside the ring. Immediately, her love-turned-instinct kicked in, and she darted through the battlefield. Fortunately, the army of players was already halfway up, so she didn't meet any resistance extreme enough to slow her down.

"Hey, you big oaf!" Recon threw an insult as well as a dart of fire down at the dragon from the air. The dart exploded against its scaled backside, not doing any noticeable damage, though it got the boss's attention. Its horned head turned skyward, and Recon barely dodged a large pillar of fire that shot up at him.

"Recon!" He turned to see Lyfa glaring at him, "You be more careful or so help me, _I_ will kill you!" He grinned sheepishly at his girlfriend before they both had to fly out of the way to avoid another burning cloud.

Egil and four other players approached one of the dragon's hind legs. He brought his war axe high above his head, bringing downward across the rear appendage, leaving a large red gash. Diabold roared and kicked back with the leg, sending all of them sprawling across the ground.

Kirito watched their enemy closely, analyzing it for some sign of weakness. With a whip of its tail, the dragon sent a group of players flying into the air before they got anywhere near hitting it. Its attacks were so powerful and wide that no group of players could come near enough to do any real damage. All range attacks were met with a large swath of flames. What really made him nervous was the lack of special attacks the boss was using, and the fact that the only thing it was using its wings for was to smack people.

A couple of players soon found themselves trapped before the mighty beast. Realizing he had to distract it, Kirito darted into the street. He roared his battle cry as his swords cut an x in the creature's neck. It cried out in pain, and attempted to squash the new assailant like a little black insect. Kirito combat rolled out of the way, causing the dragon's foot to do nothing but kick up dust.

However, Kirito now found himself standing in front of the monster. It glared at him with what seemed to be a wicked grin. It attempted to side-swipe him with a giant, clawed hand. The young warrior had just enough to raise his swords to block the brunt of the blow, but he was still sent into the air. He landed on his feet, and was about to charge forward when it tried to crush him again. His swords crossed above his head, Kirito found himself on one knee struggling to keep the massive claw in front of him from crushing his face.

There was a flash of red, and the pressure on Kirito was released. He looked up to see the dragon angrily stomping its foot back into the ground next to it. Directly above his head, Kirito saw the blade of a very familiar rapier. He slowly rose to his feet, turning to look at his wife.

"Are you okay, Kirito?" Asuna asked with concern.

"Yeah," he answered with a smile, "A lot better now that you're here, what about you?"

She returned his smile, "I'm fine, just glad to see you."

The dragon screeched, glaring menacingly at the couple. They turned towards the boss, their weapons ready; looks of hard, strong determination on their faces. The two entered their battle stances, steadily returning Diabold's glare.

"You ready to show him who he's dealing with?" Asuna asked her husband.

"Oh yeah, let's do it," Kirito answered.

The two took off. Their blades glowed red as they stabbed the dragon's chin, forcibly throwing its head into the air. They continued on as it roared its indignation. The two ran along its back, slashing and stabbing at it. The creature shifted so it could try to swipe them off with its wing. They dove forward, deflecting the boss's wing. The couple jumped off Diabold's back and ran under its belly, the dragon moved back, trying to swat them away. Once again, Kirito and Asuna were at the business end of the dragon's mouth.

"We'll keep its attention," Kirito shouted to the surrounding players, "everyone else, attack!"

The other players shouted their battle cries as they charged. Kirito darted forward, upper-cutting the dragon's chest to keep its attention focused on them. It roared angrily and fire poured from its mouth. The street was engulfed in flames. Yet, when the stream of flame ended, Kirito and Asuna stood side by side, having blocked the attack together.

Diabold's head shot forward like a striking snake. It snapped at the pair, but they both spun out of the way in opposite directions. The boss instead got a face-full of glowing steel. Its head rose up again, its toothy maw opened wide. Kirito and Asuna braced themselves as they saw flames begin to build up in its mouth. However, instead of the stream of fire they expected, a concentrated ball of fire burst from the boss's mouth. The fiery bomb exploded behind them, but the force of the blast through them off of their feet.

Diabold fully extended its wings while the couple struggled to their feet. The beating of the heavy wings filled their ears, accompanied by powerful gusts of wind. Several of the weaker players were actually lifted into the air by the wind. The boss took to the sky, stopping to look down and roar at them, as if daring them to follow.

Kirito saw this as a new opportunity. Down on the street, there was little space which prevented the players from using their advantage in numbers. The sky was open however, and the mass of players could easily take it down.

"Everyone, to the sky! Let's surround it!" Kirito shouted to the others as his spriggan wings appeared on his back. He kicked off, the wind blowing the hair out of his face as he and the others flew.

They quickly formed a massive cloud around the boss. The dragon spat large columns of fire and slashed and bit at the players as it flew in and around them, never remaining stationary. However, like Kirito predicted, it was incredibly exposed. The numberless mass of players inflicted large amounts of damage wherever it went.

"This is too easy," Kirito said to Asuna and Lyfa while the dragon was at the other end of the horde.

"What do you mean?" Lyfa inquired.

"Well, does this look like a boss that would be guarding a key to you? Sure it's doing damage, but our healers are quickly recovering all of that. Meanwhile, we're just pummeling it."

He spoke to soon, for Diabold abruptly sped out of the cloud of players. Thick, black clouds appeared out of nowhere and created a black ceiling above them. The dragon flew out pretty far before it started to bank around. It was suddenly struck with a series of lightning bolts, causing smaller bolts of electricity to fly back and forth across its entire body. Several large spikes grew up out of its spine while two wickedly curved horns grew out of the sides of its head. Its eyes glowed blue, and the players watched in horror as it grew another pair of wings, doubling its speed.

"Oh, here we go," Klein said, "Everybody get ready!"

Diabold hit the army with powerful, unstoppable force. The electricity flying across its body deflected most attacks while even harming some of the other players. It opened its mouth, and a beam of blue and white flame, coursing with electricity, poured out of its mouth. The timing of the attack was faster and the range was longer than it was before. Droves of players were caught in the powerful blast, killing several. To top it all off, the damage players did to it was lessened as well.

"Crap!" Kirito exclaimed as his grip on his swords tightened. He flew in to attack the boss, by his run ended with him merely fighting to deflect bolts of electricity.

The boss suddenly brought itself upright. It made one powerful flap with its wings, and when they started to curve inward towards its body they stopped for half a second. All of the electricity flew of the wings in large, powerful bolts, instantly striking easily 70 players. There were many cries of pain and bursts of light as dozens died from the attack. The dragon continued its aerial assault, though without the electricity covering its body it appeared that its defenses were down.

Soon the dragon left the group again, the bolts of lightning striking its body. It returned again, inflicting widespread and massive damage while receiving little. This was it, the pattern was established. However, even this set pattern was not enough for the players to prevent death in great numbers.

"Asuna," her brown eyes turned to meet his when he spoke. How he wished he didn't have to put her in danger like this, "We can't let this keep happening. Even with overwhelming numbers too many people are dying. We have to do something."

"Right," Asuna's eyes shone with determination and acknowledgment of what they had to do, "We can do it together." She held out her hand, which he gladly took, intertwining their fingers.

"Egil!" Kirito called to their friend, "hold him off for just a little bit, we'll be right back."

"Will do!" Egil responded.

Kirito and Asuna quickly disappeared in the clouds as the dragon made another lightning attack with its wings. It flew about them for a few minutes as the players fought to do as much damage as possible. Diabold soared away again, and was just turning when to objects flashed the players from the clouds, bee-lining it towards the boss. Lightning struck the black dragon again as it came around. The two flashes struck it right on the top of its head.

"Star Burst Stream!" Kirito commanded as his swords glowed blue. He and Asuna ran from the top of the boss's head towards its tail. Asuna worked to deflect incoming bolts of electricity while her husband became like a blue whirlwind, slashing his way across the dragon's back. Its health gauge decreased steadily as they raced along it. The other players watched the spectacle in awe.

When they reached the tail, the two turned around to make a pass towards its head. However, a bolt suddenly struck Asuna stunning her just long enough for the tail to whip around and swipe her away. Kirito wanted to run to her, but had to just trust what her health bar read on his party list. Now he was truly angry. His attacks sped up, he deflected bolts and hacked his way across the dragon, nearly killing it.

Diabold suddenly spun, temporarily spinning Kirito through the air. The young hero recovered only to find himself staring at the boss's might chest. The dragon roared, and made one flap of its wings. Hundreds of bolts of lightning easily overwhelmed any defense Kirito tried to put up. He cried out in pain and passed out as his HP bar went from nearly full to almost dead. Several players raced to catch him and his weapons as they fell.

Asuna stared in shocked horror at the scene. Then, her beautiful face contorted into one of the nastiest looks every to fall upon such beauty. She brought up her rapier so that it was pointed at the dragon below.

"Y-you… you… YOU MONSTER!" She screamed at the top of her lungs as she shot towards it, her rapier stretched out in front of her, her body making a perfect line, " I WILL MAKE YOU PAY FOR THAT!"

Flames engulfed the blade of her weapon, then surrounded her whole frame. She shot at it like a meteor raining from the sky. Hell truly had no fury like this woman's scorn. Asuna struck the dragon in the abdomen, but she didn't stop there. Indeed, she burst out the other side, leaving a gaping hole in the boss's body. It made one last cry of pain and anger as the rest of its health vanished. There was a bright flash of light, and the familiar word commending their victory appeared in the sky. As well as a blue crystal, which just floated in the air.

Asuna had no interest for the key, however. Her attention was immediately focused upon her husband, the meaning to her life. With tear streaming down her face she flew down to Egil, who carried Kirito's limp body in his arms. Her long, brown hair streamed behind her as she shot down towards them.

"Kirito," Asuna whispered his name when she reached them. She gently traced his features with her finger before cupping the side of his head with her hand.

"He'll be alright," Egil reassured her, "He just really needs to rest."

She placed a gentle kiss on his forehead, "Let's get you to an inn, shall we?"

Meanwhile, a figure watched them from under the shadow of a building in the city below. His face was contorted in anger and frustration as he watched the scene and read a battle message announcing that the players had found a room containing three GM consoles. It seemed the time for his great reveal had come sooner than he was planning.

**Finally! I enjoyed writing this chapter, but man it took forever. I kept getting distracted and I was also working on the next chapter for another story, but my computer wigged out and erased it. Fortunately I was able to recover this one. Thank you to those who've reviewed, I greatly appreciate it. Please, keep them coming!**

**Dark Guymelef**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Face of the Devil

November 15, 2027

The room was packed with high profile players. Most of them were guild leaders and there closes subordinates. Naturally, the higher-ups from the Unified Coalition Guild were present. All except for Schatten, no one had seen him since the beginning of the battle the day before.

The room itself was quite plain. It was located through a secret door in one of the houses. It was a large, square room with a wide raised section in the middle that stood upon three stairs. Three tables sat on the pedestal, facing one another in a triangle shaped formation. These were the GM consoles, identified by the green outlines of the keyboards on their faces. The entire room was a bright white, with light emanating from every direction.

"Welcome everyone. Thank you for coming," Kayaba addressed the audience from the top of the pedestal. "As you all know, when we first began our search for the keys, I asked that players also keep an eye out for GM consoles." He spread his arm and gestured to the whitewashed tables behind him, "Finally, we have found three."

Kirito and Asuna leaned against the wall at the back of the room. As Kayaba began explaining how the consoles were acquired, Asuna noticed her husband's head bob up and down out of the corner of her eye. She turned toward him with a gentle look of concern, the edges of her mouth pulled down in a slight frown.

"Kirito, are you okay? Are you sure you don't want to rest?" She whispered. Though he slept well the night before, Kirito was still exhausted.

His head shot up and he blinked his eyes a few times in an effort to wake himself up. He turned to her, a small smile appearing on his face, "No, I'm good. Thank you though." He silently took her hand in his and pulled it towards him, forcing her come snug up against him. The two smiled and returned their attention to Kayaba.

"Now, our purpose in acquiring these consoles is to hack into the system and learn the identity of Shadow and lock him out of the system if possible. And these men," he gestured to three players in long black coats and sunglasses with rather plain looking hairdos that made it look like they each had bowls sitting on their heads, "are our hacking team. They are the best hackers amongst the players. Gentlemen, please take your positions."

The three men climbed the short steps and moved so that each one stood in front of a console. They stood at attention, a most serious look upon their faces. Their chests were puffed up in pride of how important they'd become. Kirito would have busted up laughing if wasn't so tired.

"We'll keep this room under heavy guard until the job is done. Asuna," several heads turned to look at the couple at the back of the room, "I am leaving you in charge of the first shift with the absence of Schatten. Now, gentlemen, you may begin."

The hackers pounced like starving cats on mice. Their fingers flew furiously as the screens that floated in the air danced with endless waves of numbers and letters. After a few minutes, people began to slowly trickle from the room. The room was almost empty except for the security detail when Egil and Klein approached the married couple.

"Hey Kirito, let's go get something to eat. We can get something for Asuna too." Klein invited.

Kirito turned and looked at his wife, obviously reluctant to leave. She smiled at him, love swelling in her heart at how much he wanted to stay with her. She placed a small kiss on his lips and brought her hand up to the side of his face.

"Go, I'll see you when you get back."

Reluctantly, Kirito followed his two friends from the room. Asuna watched them leave, and then turned to the three hackers furiously pounding away at the keys. She frowned as a feeling of great unease began to grow within her.

It did not take long before Asuna was overcome with boredom. Thinking that Kirito wouldn't be much longer, she didn't see any harm in ascertaining the progress of the hackers. With her back to the open hallway leading to the hidden door, she watched over the shoulders of the hackers.

"What is that?" She pointed to a series of numbers and letters that was in the top right corner of all three screens.

"That's a gamer ID tag," the nearest hacker told her, "Our suspicions were correct, Shadow's been masquerading as a player. We're trying to trace it back to his profile." After a few more minutes of watching them, totally lost, Asuna detected a spike in the fervor with which the men were pounding the keys.

"We're almost there!" One hacker shouted excitedly.

"Here we come you little git," another spat.

Suddenly a window popped up on all three screens displaying the player's profile. Everyone gasped as they saw the photo and the name on the profile. Asuna's eyes were wide while the hackers' faces paled visibly.

"Oh no," the third hacker said.

"Oh, but _yes_," a sinister voice said from behind them.

Klein let out a satisfied sigh as he leaned back in his chair, having gulped down another mug of whatever it was he was drinking. The three of them sat at a wooden table inside a packed, dimly lit tavern. "This is it, isn't it?" He asked to no one in particular, "Nothing tastes better like a good meal after a hard fought victory."

Kirito looked at the food on his plate, "Eh, it was okay."

"What! Okay? It was excellent," Klein snapped despite how obvious Kirito's bait was, "Just because you've got the best food known to man waiting for you at home doesn't mean you have to rub it in to all of our faces." They all laughed. It was nice to relax after such a hard fight.

"So what do you guys think?" Egil asked, "Do you really think those hackers can get the job done?"

Kirito took a couple gulps of water, "If they do, we might not have to fight our way to the 90th floor of Aincrad."

"True," Egil concurred, "but do you really think he's taken a page out of Kayaba's book and is a player? I mean wouldn't that be a little obvious?"

"I don't know," Kirito countered, "If he is we haven't been able to find him yet."

"If he is a player, I'm placing my money on Schatten." Klein said with an easygoing air of cockiness.

"That's quite the accusation, what makes you think that?" Kirito questioned, though in the back of his mind he sort of hoped that Klein was right.

"I've always suspected it was him if Shadow is a player. I think the fact that no one's seen him since the battle yesterday just confirms it. He got beat, so now he's off somewhere sulking and plotting his next move. Besides, didn't you know? Schatten is the German word for shadow."

"That's still not enough evidence to accuse him," Egil argued, "You can't judge someone solely on a hunch. Besides, he- Kirito, are you okay?" Both of them stared at Kirito, who sat in his chair staring into space, his eyes wide.

Klein's last comment opened the floodgates in Kirito's mind. Suddenly, all the clues began to come together. His brain went into hyper mode as he marveled that he hadn't seen it before. When they were first trapped, Shadow called them his "fellow players." Then, Schatten appeared out of nowhere, fighting with insane, almost suicidal bravery. His apparent "insights" into Shadow's motives would be so obvious if he was in fact Shadow himself. His position as recon leader allowed him to scout out things he already knew of, like the path to Arun, and his guess that the next key was here. He seemed to have little regard for his own life, but what if he couldn't die? And then there was his name, was he practically telling them who he was? There was one problem though. Being a player, he would have had access to the battle messages, including the one about the GM consoles. If that was the case, then…

Kirito shot up from his seat, urgency written all over his face. "Get Kayaba and as many as you can down to the GM console room now!" He yelled over his shoulder as he ran out the door.

"You!" Asuna exclaimed as she drew her sword. All eyes were upon Schatten as he stood in the entry way, sword drawn and an ominous look upon his face.

"Indeed. Tell me, how does it feel to be so _stupid_? I was there the whole time, dropping more clues than I care to count, and yet you still didn't figure it out." Schatten spat.

"That doesn't matter; we know who you are now." Asuna's voice was hard and filled to the brim with controlled anger, "Shadow, I now place you under arrest for imprisoning us here and the murder of all those who have died. If you resist, we will not hesitate to use violent force."

Shadow said nothing, only raised his sword so that the tip of the blade was pointing at her. She nodded, and the two guards nearest him charged at him from the sides. His reaction was swift and powerful, almost inhuman. He ducked, making the blade of the closest guard fly over his head. His sword glowed a golden hue as he spun in place, leaving a massive gash in the first guard's chest and shattering the weapon of the second one. As the first guard fell onto his back, Shadow shot upward, still turning. The edge of the razor sharp steel hit the neck of the second guard, decapitating him. As the dead man burst into hundreds of miniscule shards, Shadow turned to the wounded one, his blade splitting the knight's skull, and finishing off the last of his health.

Shadow stopped and looked at Asuna with a rather cocky smirk upon his lips. Asuna quickly hid her shock and moved into her fighting stance. Though she did not show it, she was surprised when Shadow turned his sword upside down, with the tip of the blade resting on the ground, his hands resting on the hilt of the sword.

With a cry, Asuna shot forward, her rapier stretched out in front of her. She detected a momentary red glow from Shadow's eyes before a black, swirling vapor formed a thin cloud in front of her. It blasted forward at her, not only stopping her cold, but throwing her backwards into the air. The cloud dissipated when it made contact, and Asuna flew until her back smacked against the far wall. She fell on her side, front facing the wall, and lay there shuddering.

The other players in the room charged simultaneously. Shadow stood still, bringing his sword up and around his opposite shoulder. Black flames flew from the steel blade and his eyes glowed red. His hair and clothes rustled as if a breeze was blowing past him. The players closed in on their enemy, who unleashed his attack. There was a flash of red and a wave of black rushed at them. They were all blown backward, none dead but all heavily wounded.

As the players struggled to their feet, Shadow pressed his advantage. He moved like lightning among them. His sword flashed as several players burst into light. His eyes shone with cold fury as he slaughtered them mercilessly.

Finally, only one hacker remained. His legs below the knees were gone, leaving him unable to stand. Shadow stood over him, preparing to strike. He smiled at the fear on the hacker's face.

"Asuna!" Kirito yelled when he entered the room and saw her lying on her side with her back to him, shuddering. He turned and glared at Shadow, readying his weapons, "Your plan ends here, Schatten, or should I say Shadow? You won't get away with what you've done."

Shadow turned toward the hero, ignoring his previous victim, "Congratulations on figuring it out Kirito. But I do believe that you are not ready to challenge me. Do you want me to show you?"

"Be my guest," Kirito taunted back.

"Very well, prepare yourself, Kirito."

In order to prevent him from gaining the initiative, Kirito struck first. He launched himself as Shadow, his swords glowing blue as he brought both of them down at his opponent. Shadow deftly blocked the attack with his sword. Kirito was stunned as he struggled with all his might to break the block, even to the point of shaking, yet Shadow did not seem fazed at all.

The moment Kirito felt Shadow start to push him, he jumped away. He barely had enough time to cross the swords in front of him when Shadow dove forward, the point of his blade driving into the center of the x. Kirito had to jump back again when he realized that his block wasn't going to hold up to his opponent's strength.

Shadow laughed, "Now do you see? Even with your level you don't stand a chance against me."

"I won't give up until you're dead," Kirito said through gritted teeth. In his peripheral vision he spied Asuna's shaking body, which served to strengthen his resolve.

He charged again. First he swung with the green, dragon diamond sword. His opponent dodged the attack easily. When Kirito attempted to strike with his other weapon, Shadow deflected it with his own sword. Before Kirito could react the air was knocked from him when Shadow's fist slammed into his abdomen.

The raven haired hero staggered backwards, using his swords to block an impossibly swift flurry of attacks. Despite his best efforts, red marks appeared across his body where the attacks were too fast and too powerfully to be successfully deflected.

Finally, Shadow moved to make a powerful downward blow. This gave Kirito enough time to prepare, and he moved to the side, avoiding the attack. He quickly pressed his advantage. His blades flashed as he put the sinister man on the defensive. Steel clanged against steel as the two dueled back and forth.

Kirito struck with his midnight black blade, only for Shadow to parry the blow, knocking the sword away. Before the dual swordsman could strike with the other, it too was deflected out and away, leaving Kirito open. He grunted in pain when the point of Shadow's blade pierced his shoulder. Using the sword as leverage, Shadow brought Kirito off of his feet and threw him against the far wall, where he landed next to his wife.

"Hold it right there!" The evil mastermind turned around to see Kayaba, Klein, Egil, Lyfa, Recon, and several others standing in the entryway with their weapons drawn.

"Well, well," Shadow said with a smile as he brought his weapon to point at the players, "I will admit, this is not the grand reveal I envisioned, but I guess now is as good a time as any. Even with so many of you, the odds are not in your favor."

"That's a pretty cocky thing to say," Lyfa sneered as she glowered at their lone enemy. "I think we can see if you can live up to it."

"I agree," Kayaba added. He pointed his sword at the foe, "All players, attack!"

They surged forward, and Shadow darted to meet them. His sword moved with a speed to match Kirito's swiftest attacks. With blinding speed, he maneuvered around Kayaba's front, easily deflecting a blow from the leader's sword and knocking his shield out and away from his body. He was quickly stabbed, then the attacker spun around to meet a blow coming from Klein. The players were shocked when lightning flew from his free hand, sending a powerful bolt at another player as he temporarily overpowered Klein with his sword.

Smoke drifted from him as a small ball of flame exploded against his back. The players temporarily lost sight of their enemy in the smoke. When he reemerged, Recon was skewered by his blade. Lyfa screamed as he gave a gasp of pain. Fortunately, Shadow did not have time to finish him off. The murderous madman withdrew his blade, turning to unleash its fury upon the others.

However, now surrounded, the players began to land blows on him. His HP gauge slowly drained bit by bit. He jumped backwards into the air, black flames flying off of his sword. He seemed to hang in midair for a moment as he made several slashes through the air. Each swing sent a large wave of pitch black fire racing down upon the players.

Kirito brought his hand to his head as he got up to his knees. The sounds of the battle behind him might as well have been miles away as his eyes landed upon Asuna lying less than a foot from him. "Asuna," he whispered her name as he reached out and rolled her over. His face became one of shock and pain as he saw a look of utter terror etched on his wife's face.

"Asuna!" Kirito cried out. He brought her into his arms, now noticing the wet tears silently running down her face. "Oh Asuna," tears began to trickle down his face too, "what has he done to you?" He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.

Asuna blinked as she was brought out of her entranced state. Kirito pulled away when he felt her move. A weak smile graced her lips as relief flooded his heart. She reached up and brushed a falling tear off his cheek.

"Hey," Asuna whispered.

Kirito opened his mouth to speak, but an explosion rocked the room, bringing them back to reality. Kirito glared in the direction of their enemy, then turned back to her. "Stay here, I'll be back." She nodded as he set her on the floor and stood up.

He darted forward, grabbing both of his swords and leaping into the air. He spun the hilts of the weapons so that their blades were pointing downward. He fell upon Shadow while his back was turned. Shadow grunted in pain as the swords pierced him. Kirito kicked off his back, using the swords to cause as much damage as possible as he withdrew them.

As the players fought, the remaining hacker slowly crawled to the nearest GM console. His breathing was heavy as his fingers flew across the keyboard again. He quickly gained administrative control of the systems.

"Eat… this…" He breathed as he pressed the delete button.

Suddenly, Shadow's image faded and distorted. He slowly faded before bursting to flames. Soon, nothing else remained of him. However, just as the players started to relax, a black hole opened up in the middle of the floor. Black flames shot up from it. The midnight flame seemed to suck the very light from the room. After a few moments, the hole closed and the fire slowly extinguished, causing the others to step back in shock and fear.

The last few dark flames flicked off of Shadow's black, plated armor. The armor was adorned by a variety of spikes and skulls. Two horned skulls served as the shoulder plates from under which a black cape flowed. His hair was also as dark as Kirito's. His skin was now a grayish black, and his eyes glowed red. He raised one armored hand and more of the black flames sprouted from it, only this time they solidified into a long, black sword that seemed fit for a demon. The blade was very long, and quite thick, yet he wielded it with one hand like it was a mere extension of his body.

They heard a gasp and a splicing sound. The players turned to see the hacker, now impaled on a black spike that seemed to have grown up out of the ground. They turned back to Shadow. This time Kirito also noticed that their demonic foe no longer had a player marker above his head. Nor did he have a health bar or the name generally associated with bosses. What was he?

When he spoke, Shadow's voice was not the same. His old voice seemed to be mixed some sort of deep, demonic tone that spoke simultaneously, "Ha ha ha ha! You honestly thought that deleting me was all it would take? Please, did none of you ever stop to think just how I was able to seize control of the game so quickly, remain in control for so long, and go undetected even with the upgrades in security? Well, I guess none of that matters now. I suggest you back down now. Any more foolish bravery will only get you killed."

There was silence for a moment as the players each tried to figure out the next move while Shadow smiled maliciously at them. Then, with a loud scream, Lyfa suddenly jumped over all of their heads, her katana held high above her head. Her blade glowed red as she brought it down on their enemy.

"This is for Recon!" She yelled. Shadow watched the blade coming at him and did not react until the last possible second. With impossibly fast reflexes, his blade swiftly rose to meet hers. Sparks flew as the two crashed together, perpendicular to each other. A confused look appeared on Lyfa's face as she seemed stuck in the air. Her confusion turned to fear when the glow in Shadow's eyes grew darker for a second before returning to normal.

Suddenly, the very air seemed to slash at her. She was pushed backwards, crying out in pain. Her body was scoured with red marks where she'd been cut and stabbed by some unseen force. She lay shuddering while a few players dragged her to the safety of the group. The others came forward, ready to attack.

Shadow laughed again, "Do you really think that's a good idea?"

Kirito stared at the floor. He knew Shadow was right; they had no idea what they were dealing with. "Get out of here," he whispered to the friends beside him, still staring at the white tile.

"What?" Klein asked.

Kirito looked up and his eyes met Asuna's. He smiled lovingly at her and gave her an apologetic look. Her eyes widened with fear as she realized his intentions. "Kirito, no!"

He turned to Klein, "Take Asuna and get out of here! I'll hold him off."

"But, Kirito," the protest was too late.

Kirito launched forward at their demonic foe. Shadow easily blocked the attack with his sword, brushing the player's blades away and make a quick and simple slash that cut deeply into his shoulder. Kirito's swords glowed blue and he growled in frustration as he unleashed his fury upon the man. Shadow's sword was nothing more than a black blur as he parried each blow.

Trying to flank him, Kirito quickly combat rolled up the steps of the pedestal around to his opponent's side. He rolled to his feet and immediately jumped forward, swinging downward with one blade. With inhuman speed, Shadow moved to the side of the swing. Everyone's eyes widened as the reality of the situation quickly sunk in to their minds.

Kirito was now in the air, one sword already swinging downward at nothing, the other too far away to be used in time. He stared down in shock as Shadow, his black cape billowing out behind him, put his sword right in Kirito's path. Kirito fell upon the blade, not stopping until he had slid halfway down it. His head hung and his body became limp as his health gauge quickly drained. He dropped his swords and burst into thousands of tiny shards of light.

"Hmph," Shadow turned to face the others, "Well, I think that will be all for today. I'll be waiting in Aincrad." The black flames shot up out of the ground at his feet, consuming him until there was nothing left. The rooms remaining occupants just stood there, staring at the spot where Kirito and Shadow had been.

"NOOOO!" Asuna screamed.

**Heh heh, sorry for how long this took. Things are starting to pick up again, but I promise I will keep updating. Please review, the reviews are awesome!**

**Dark Guymelef**


End file.
